The Full Circle
by The Disgruntled Panda
Summary: [Discontinued] Following time compression, the silver haired men from Advent Children plunge into the world of FF8. They embark on a quest to resurrect Sephiroth as Squall and Seed attempt to confront this new crisis with some help. [FF7,8,10 Crossover]
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy X or any of their characters. They all belong to Square-Enix.

**Foreward: This is my first time ever posting a story on the internet, period, and I've chosen to start on So please, bear with me. This story takes place right after the defeat of Ultimecia and involves some characters from Final Fantasy VII and X as well. It's an attempt to be averydark and serious fic and not meant for the feint of heart or those seeking a light read. If you can't handle certain disturbing subject matters, then this story is not for you! You have been warned! I will try my best to write up a sophisticated and hopefully gripping story that is both deep and yet easy to read and enjoy. Review from time to time please because your feedback is always appreciated and always helps in shaping an author's story. Enjoy!

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"THE FULL CIRCLE"

**PROLOGUE:**

Tidus lifted his head off the ground. Face covered in mud and debris, he wiped what he could away to better make sense of his surroundings. The air was relatively warm and it was early dawn. The light illuminated in the sky, signaling that the sun had risen moments ago, casting a blanket of different colored hues of red and pink above.

Sitting down with his hands behind as support, Tidus blinked several times as he desperately tried to make sense of the current situation and the events that had unfolded in the last hour. Was this Spira? It couldn't be for the fact that the city up ahead looked nothing like he had ever seen or heard of in Spira. Then again, who was he to know and judge what all of Spira contained? Yet, something was there that he simply couldn't comprehend. Like a splinter inside his head, something was indeed off about his surroundings. A dreadful feeling sank in as Tidus lifted himself to his feet and picked up his sword in the process.

He looked on ahead towards the distant metropolis. He had never laid eyes on anything like this. The architecture was far different from what he had ever witnessed. Towering glass skyscrapers loomed hundreds of feet in the air and covered the horizon, as they seemed to stretch side to side for great lengths.

Taking a few moments to examine his blade, he found relief in the fact that it was unscathed and that he had held it during his unexplainable transportation here. Despite a sense of dread looming overhead; he had his faithful weapon by his side, somewhat easing his panicking demeanor.

He proceeded for a moment but stopped short, calling out to the one person he most wished to see at the moment, "Yuna." It was in vain as he knew she couldn't hear him. He felt isolated and alone. Just moments ago, he had been with his companions, and with Yuna. And now, he was utterly alone. Alone and confused.

He set out on the inevitable long journey ahead of him to the distant city up ahead, with only the intent of finding answers in mind.

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He was in pain. That was all that was needed to describe his current status. He was in pain and he was uncomfortably cold. Slowly lifting his head up and crawling forward, he met his Buster sword, lying in the snow covered ground? It had made the journey here, but where was here? Averting his gaze from the sword, Cloud looked on ahead several meters to see Fenrir lying down on its side, half covered in snow with one end sticking up out of the snow. He squinted. Fenrir's rear wheel was still slowly spinning. He had not been out for long.

Cloud simply didn't know what to make of what had transpired in the last few hours. From being in Midgar, arguing with Tifa about his well-being and the new threat of the unknown three silver-haired men, he had gone to clashing with two of them after walking out on her. They had taken him by surprise as he was on his Fenrir. He had simply intended to clear his mind after the heated verbal dispute with Tifa when out of nowhere; both Loz and Yazoo had approached him on their own satanistic machines in the outskirts of the city. The outskirts where it was where it was bare and devoid of life, reminiscent of the feeling dwelling in the pit of his stomach. They had all clashed very briefly before the entire scenery around them exploded in a brilliant white shine.

Cloud found himself alien to this new location. His journey to stop Sephiroth two years ago had him and his companions travel across all parts of the world, thus causing him to familiarize himself with his surroundings. He knew the world well and concluded from the abundant snow and chilling wind that was piercing and numbing his body that he was most likely in the northern continent. But why here? And more importantly, how? What cruel twisted hand had pit this upon him?

The spiky haired blond warrior stood up and studied his surroundings. Parts of his body were shivering and he carefully placed a hand on his left bicep, as the cold caused the area to swell up with pain. There was snow all around and it was doing no good just simply standing there and eventually turning into a human icicle. Mounting his Fenrir, Cloud returned his Buster blade in the compartment of the motorbike and brought it to life after putting on his goggles, which much to his relief, he had brought with him earlier when leaving Midgar.

Within moments, Cloud was tearing it up throw the snow filled fields of what he presumed to be the northern continent searching for signs of life and possible shelter. His bike struggled against the slippery terrain but managed. With only his normal attire on, the mako enhancements could only help for so long against the whipping wind and arctic temperatures.


	2. Within Close Proximity

**Within Close Proximity**

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It didn't help what he did. They were simply far too difficult to shake off. He had spotted them for an instant just earlier as he had rode past them, looks of surprise were etched on their faces at that moment. As he had made his way past, he had felt something odd about the two individuals who watched him as he blazed by.

Now, Loz was approaching him from the right and Yazoo remained slightly behind, pinching his lane and only allowing him to steer to the left. The scenery was a mirage and a blur of cascading images, mimicking meshed paintings, all thanks to the blistering speeds now being approached by the three individuals.

'Their bikes are stronger and faster than mine.' He knew it. They knew it. It was simple yet caused utterly contrasting reactions from both parties. For Loz and Yazoo, this meant simple target acquisition but in his case, it meant a hard battle uphill and possible doom.

He had stolen the current bike underneath him just moments ago from an unknown individual who had stopped for him after being informed that he was in need of assistance. He was not one to steal, nor was he one to lie to others in order to steal. It simply didn't make sense. Well, neither did the current scenario that had unfolded. It seemed as if the current theme of the last couple of hours in his life revolved around chaos and disorder. The truth was, after waking up in a strange new location, miles away from where he had just been not more than an hour ago, the first thing that had registered in his mind was to pick up some form of transportation, and make his way to an urban center as opposed to this rural looking highway, which he had awoken to.

The few quiet minutes following the theft of the fairly powerful motorcycle were broken as the two unknown, silver haired individuals, whom he had passed by just moments earlier, decided to interrupt his peaceful ride. From the side mirror, upon first glance, at the rate they were approaching him; he knew this wasn't simply going to be a greeting on their part, or a simple pass by. He accelerated hoping to shake them off but to no avail. Their bikes were clearly superior as they approached him with breakneck speed. The dark gray morning sky overhead provided barely adequate lighting, disturbingly appropriate for the hopeless mood that befell the current scene.

Yazoo saw him up ahead only several meters. The target was going fast, but not fast enough. Smirking ever so slightly, he narrowed his eerily glowing turquoise eyes before signaling to Loz. Comprehending the message, the larger man sped up ahead to meet him on his right.

Loz approached him and slowly closed the gap between the two never taking his eyes off the orange haired individual with the fiery blue orbs. Like pools of shallow tropical ocean water, they reflected the image of the short haired silver man in the dark abyss of the pupils. "I'm Loz, what's your name?" he boomed.

"Who're you?" The low gruff voice was barely heard over the screaming of the bike's engine and the howling wind. No fear evident whatsoever in his unusually calm voice, taking Loz by slight surprise. He had at least expected this man to feel somewhat uneasy or nervous. His callous expression seemed to agree with his calm voice, as he portrayed no sign of fear or discomfort.

"I told you, I'm Loz." Loz's demeanor was calm as well, showing no evidence of irritation or any other emotion. He was simply hard to read at the moment and for that, his intentions were unknown. "Now," He repeated over the wind, "What was your name again?" this time, raising his voice a little higher to better be heard. Again, the callous expression, the unchanging face masking any unwanted emotions was present.

There was silence for a brief few moments as the two rode side by side with Yazoo trailing not too far behind. There was hesitation. "Derek." Was finally the reply.

The corners of Loz's mouth curved upward ever so slightly and his eyes just barely dropped as he steered up right next to Derek. "Nice to meet you!" he thundered. And with that, came the blazingly fast and unexpected right fist of Loz, colliding heavily with the right side of Derek's head.

"Holy shit!" he weakly coughed out, completely shaken up and now feeling disoriented. Like a slab of granite colliding with one's face, his vision became distorted and he nearly slipped out of consciousness. All feeling to the right side of his face disappeared as it succumbed to the numbness from the shot. The right side of his skull had been crushed or at least it felt like it had been crushed. His right eye was getting heavy and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep it open. Predictably, the taste and smell of iron took over his senses. Crimson slowly streamed from the right side of his mouth, lightly dribbling the side of his chin and being captured by the fierce wind.

Trying his best to remain balanced on the bike, Derek shook off the blurriness in his vision and sharply steered the bike to the left, away from this unknown enemy. A bullet and then two flew by to his right as he pulled to the left. Checking his right side mirror, he could barely make out the second silver haired individual behind him. No doubt that he carried a projectile weapon. The longer silver haired man sped up to Derek's right side as Loz sped on up ahead and to the left, cutting off his lane.

Fighting the dizziness and the now too familiar taste of blood from inside his mouth and nose, Derek took out his handgun and fired at Yazoo. The sound of the bullet exploding from the chamber echoed across the vast empty highway and for a moment, silenced the howling wind.

Surprise evident in his eyes for the first time, the long silver haired male barely avoided the .50 caliber bullet that streaked by him as he swerved his bike to the left and then back to normal position, creating snake whip tire marks on the pavement.

Even in the dull, gray environment, there was a gleam caught off the side of Derek's large handgun, as if emphasizing a point that it was not to be trifled with and that it was a bringer of doom.

"You're a SOLDIER huh?" Yazoo snarled. No reply. The question caught the orange haired man slightly off guard. A simple question from the long silver haired individual who now sported the similar barely evident smirk that Loz had only moments earlier. The answer was yet another bullet which Yazoo barely managed to avoid. He sneered and added, shouting over the wind, "I can tell from the glow in your eyes. You can't hide it no matter how hard you try!"

Was this what it was all about Derek thought, they were to wipe out the last remaining SOLDIER's who were alive? But why now? And for what purpose? And why did they eerily resemble a great SOLDIER from the past, especially the one with the long hair?

Derek narrowed his eyes momentarily, stealing a quick glance up ahead at Loz before returning his head to the other. "What's your name _friend_?" Sarcasm dripping off the last word.

Yazoo cocked his head to the side as he rode in sync with Derek, only a few meters separating them. His corners of his mouth tugged upwards ever so slightly, forming a malicious grin. Derek took the man's silence as a warning and sensed something was going to happen.

He didn't have enough time to dwell on the matter as up ahead, Loz had slammed on the brakes and completed a full 180. With no way to steer left further as it was uneven terrain that could prove lethal and no way to steer right as Yazoo occupied the lane, his honed instincts and reflexes kicked in. Slamming on the brakes, Derek pulled a very sharp turn to the right, steering clear of Loz, and causing Yazoo to rocket ahead before hitting his brakes as well. The bike screeched in pain, the smell of burning rubber now filling the morning air. Tires producing brilliantly curved marks on the road. As quickly as he had jerked his back to the right, he jerked it back again towards the left, making himself parallel with the highway once more before flying out and into the off-terrain.

The rage was apparent on Yazoo's face. Now to Derek's far left, he unloaded bullet after bullet from his Velvet Nightmare to his right at Derek with his hair flickering madly in the rushing wind. Derek did his best to avoid what he could. Bullets ricocheted off the bike, igniting sparks and one or two made entrances into the side of the bike, far too close to his own skin. As long as they didn't hit the tank or the tires, he would be fine… for the moment. Accelerating, he sped up ahead with Yazoo and Loz trailing behind. The bullets continued to sail past and none made contact with flesh yet as he swerved left and right to avoid as many as he could. Didn't that man ever run out of bullets?

Loz, who had reversed his bike yet again to the proper position, accelerated and approached Yazoo from the left.

"Take him out." The simple request from the longer haired individual in the form of a snarl. Nodding, Loz sped up ahead to catch up with now fleeing Derek.

Looking in the side mirror once again, he could see the short silver haired individual catching up to him. "Sonnuva bitch," he muttered under his breath. Braking at the last second caused Loz to propel on ahead and Yazoo to catch up from behind leaving Derek in the middle. Loz braked hard and waited for Derek to catch up. Hitting the throttle again, Derek raced forwards, ignoring and avoiding the bullets from behind as he emptied his clip at Loz up ahead. The bullets missed as he proved to be easily capable of avoiding them. It didn't help that at these insanely high speeds, aiming was also put in the backseat to maintaining control of the bike.

The three men were fast approaching a lone car up ahead. Yazoo, paying attention to the turquoise sedan, signaled to Loz who was a distance away. Loz avoided yet another of Derek's bullets and turned in time to witness the approaching Sedan. He studied it for a moment. Turning back to face Yazoo, he avoided a bullet, and nodded in confirmation.

The middle aged woman in the sedan had only now realized that three unknown individuals in motorbikes were speeding towards her. "What in God's name…?" Panicking and unsure of what to do, she hit the gas and sped forward, wishing to avoid any confrontation with the three. However, as she would soon find out, it was inevitable.

Yazoo had ceased fire and Derek wanted to know why. Checking behind him once again, he couldn't find Yazoo. Instinct kicked in at the last second and he quickly steered to the right, just inches from avoiding a swing from Yazoo's gun? Yes, it appeared that his weapon was a combination of both gun and blade. A _gunblade_ if you could so call it. Quickly glancing up ahead, Derek finally managed to catch the quickly approaching car. The driver seemed to be in either quite a rush as well or had seen the events playing out in the rear and was making a getaway.

His strategic thinking kicking in, Derek deduced what the two were planning to do: cut him off using the car as a third obstacle.

At that moment, time seemed to slow down as a numbing sensation registered throughout his body, beginning with his left side. Looking down, he could see crimson stains soaking up his clothes. Sound ceased to exist momentarily as the pain registered in his head and overtook all other stimulated signals. Derek blinked and opened his eyes slowly. The car was approaching and Loz was on his right trying to box him in, but it all seemed to be a blur. The bike felt too heavy to control and steer at the moment and he didn't know if he could grip the handle bars any longer. The bullets being unloaded from his attacker behind seemed to be traveling by at a very slow speed as they traveled past him, missing. The sounds they emitted as they exited the chamber were very low and dragged on, like the low rumbling of thunder.

A second sharp pain in his left bicep brought him back to reality as the sounds returned and his reactions kicked into gear once more. Briefly looking down to his side, he could see a second bullet hole in his upper left arm that was also resulting in a great deal of blood being spilled.

The left arm was losing power but he had to remain determined. The car was now to his left and he was slowly passing it with Loz to his right steering into him.

During this moment, Derek quickly turned his head and looked through the passenger's window and straight at the middle aged woman. She was possibly in her forties. She returned his gaze but her expression wasn't indicative of his. Horror, shock and confusion etched across her face. Derek could make out her hands trembling as they gripped the steering wheel ever so tightly. As soon as she broke away from his gaze and turned back towards the road, he became well aware of Loz approaching closer and closer.

Yazoo had braked and dropped directly behind Derek, now completely boxing him in. The woman in the car turned her face to the right once more. Once again, her face registering the shock and horror that had simply refused to leave her facial features. These maniacs were inches from her car and were using guns and swords. Had her adrenaline not been at an all-time high, she would have surely fainted.

Loz was closing in and Derek did not want to feel another of his grueling punches. Seeing as how his bike was unable to quickly accelerate past the car to his side, there was only one option and as asinine as it was, he had to go for it. He steered right up to the car and quickly dove onto the front windshield, his bike losing control and falling behind.

The woman screamed and Derek gave her a quick glance from outside with an equal look of surprise before climbing on top of the car, leaving a trail of blood on the windshield. If there was a good time to have a heart attack, it was now for her. She thought of hitting the brakes but something inside told her that it would be a mistake so she continued driving.

The now unmounted bike fell behind, coming into the way of Yazoo who just barely managed to steer away from it, causing him to lose control in the process. "Motherfucker!" The anger evident as he eyed Derek now far up ahead on top of the car, in a spider-like position, his short orange hair dancing wildly in the wind.

Loz drove up to the right side of the car, merely inches from it. 'What's he gonna do, punch the car?' Derek thought as he pulled out his gun. The answer should have been obvious as the car actually rocked to the side from the devastating blow. "What the fuck are your hands made of freak?" He shouted out on top of the car, over the blowing wind.

"Jenova," came the simple and monotone reply as another blow was delivered to the side of the car, denting the door.

Jenova? Where had Derek heard that before. He couldn't recall nor would he have any adequate time to do so as more bullets from the back smashed through the rear windshield, shattering it to what seemed like infinite small shards. Was the silver haired man deliberately aiming at the woman and not him? Even in the piercing wind shrieking into his ears at the high speed, it was not hard to miss the lady's shrill screams from inside the car. It sounded as if she had begun to hyperventilate.

"Hang on!" He shouted to her. Derek didn't fully understand the purpose of telling her that, seeing as she probably distrusted him just as much as the other two. He targeted Yazoo and fired, another loud blast from the chamber of the gun echoing all throughout. Yazoo steered clear of the few shots fired and returned fire also without much success. Another devastating blow to the side of the car caused it to shake much more violently this time. 'Gotta get rid of that fucking freak.' Derek thought, remembering the immovable threat at the side of the car.

Half a mile away, a semi-truck was approaching on the opposite lane and Derek could see it from his viewpoint. This was going to get very ugly, especially if the silver haired man to the side of the car managed to shove the car into the path of the semi. As the truck quickly approached, the driver in the truck blew his horn, signaling for them. 'Buddy, you're here at the worst time,' Derek thought bitterly.

Giving a quick glance back at Yazoo, who had seized firing for he was reloading his weapon with one hand, Derek had enough time to try and shake Loz off. To his surprise, before he could reach to the side and fire at Loz, the woman in the car seemed to have had enough of the psychotic man vandalizing her car and had swerved into him. This only took Loz slightly off guard but for Derek it was enough time as he fired at Loz from the top of the car. Occupied with the lady who was now his enemy as well, Loz was having trouble evading Derek's shots and so he slammed on the brakes. It was then that Derek unleashed a barrage of bullets at the front of bike, with two successfully puncturing the tires.

With the bike now swerving violently from side to side, Loz lost control and bailed as the bike crashed and skidded along the pavement, still at high speeds, sending millions of brilliant sparks flying in all directions from the heat generated through friction. Shrapnel also spewed in multiple directions. Loz slid across the ground in a crouch, with the majority of his body weight, save aside his feet, resting on the mechanical device attached to his arm, the soles of his boots producing the smell of burning rubber, while rubbing against the pavement. After coming to a stop, he stood up, completely unscathed, aside from his now worn out boots. It took Yazoo only a split second to pass by a stationary and angry looking Loz and then his bike.

The old bearded truck driver approached and caught the scene with confused eyes. "What the hell…?" He muttered to himself. Passing by the car, he picked up his radio as he caught a glimpse of a man on top of it. A man on a bike followed behind and the two locked eyes for a brief moment. It was in that moment that time seemed to slow down to a crawl.

Yazoo smirked once again and aimed his Velvet Nightmare straight at the front window of the truck and at the truck driver. An easy target moving at a steady rate with no evasion possible. The truck driver merely squinted through the window trying to understand what it was that the biker was holding. His thoughts came to an instant close as a shot rang out through the air and entered through the windshield, making a clean hole in the man's head. Blood painted the back head rest of the truck as well as the front window. The driver's head fell on the steering wheel as the truck continued rolling on forward, the radio dropping out of his now lifeless hand and dangling around on its cord. Yazoo turned his attention back to the car up ahead as the truck with the crimson painted inside made its way past, across to their own lane very slowly, and eventually into the side, crashing and tearing through the trees, before finally coming to a stop after all the obstruction.

The air was now cold and low, indicative of the mood. As Yazoo sped up towards Derek and the sedan, Derek himself shouted over the side to the woman, "Lady, just keep driving and don't panic." He wasn't sure if she had heard him over the wind.

It seemed like moments but truthfully, only seconds before the woman replied back in hysteria, "Don't panic? Don't fucking panic!? I don't even know who the hell you are or what you're doing on top of my car! Why don't I just try and knock you off right now?!"

He opened his mouth to shout back a reply before yet another shot rang out, followed by a numbness took over his body, this time, in his left shoulder. His entire left arm began losing strength. Summoning all his mental concentration, he struggled to ignore the pain as he fired with his right at the now close Yazoo. The blood was flying out of his arm and shoulder like a red ribbon in the harsh wind, making intricate shapes and streaks as it exited his body.

Concentrating, Derek closed his left eye and focused with his right on directly targeting Yazoo's head. From several meters back, the silver haired man picked up on the other's intentions and quickly steered left as a shot ran by and through where his head would have been only seconds ago. He wasn't fortunate enough to avoid the shot entirely this time as it grazed his right shoulder, cutting through his shoulder padding and leaving a deep cut. The first shot to ever actually ever make contact with one of the silver haired individuals.

Yazoo let out a low growl as he continued his chase of his opponent.

Derek quickly tilted his head to the side and shouted down to the woman, "Just keep steering, we're gonna make it out."

Yazoo made out the shape of the lady's head from the back window. He steadied his arm and concentrated, releasing a single shot. "Die…" he whispered, although the piercing wind drowned out the soft statement.

The car swerved violently for an instant, causing Derek to nearly slide over the top before maintaining stable position. "Lady! What the fuck was that for? Don't steer like that!" A bullet ricocheted off the top of the car, just inches from his left hand. What was it with the left side of his upper body that the silver haired individual found particularly interesting? Couldn't he simply target his right side for a change?

Derek evaded yet another bullet that grazed by the side of his head as Yazoo tirelessly pursued him, now angry after having been hit by one of Derek's unforgiving, large caliber, bullets. Anger not out of pain, for the pain was easily ignored. Instead, anger for the fact that he had actually been hit by a bullet. Yazoo had never been hit before. This and his inability to successfully terminate his target fueled his anger. The orange haired man proved to be a worthy adversary.

Yazoo smirked as he saw the sedan ever so slightly trudge towards the right, inching closer and closer to the side of the highway. He accelerated on ahead to catch up. Derek took notice of the car's direction as well. "Lady what the fuck? Steer damnit, steer!" No response. Then the realization sank in but he had no time to confirm his assumptions for there was still the matter of the gun wielding menace.

Yazoo felt the vibrating of his phone inside his pocket at that moment. He snarled and sharply steered to the left, away from a bullet. He knew who it was on the other line and knew that he needed to answer. He had expected the call ever since he had woken up in this alien location.

Derek quickly took notice of a slight distraction from the long silver haired man. He raised himself to a better position from the top of the roof of the car and aimed carefully, concentrating this time and letting his anger, pain, and confusion all subside and melt away at the moment. Everything focused at a fine point for him at that moment and as Yazoo looked up after the brief instance he had had his head down, he was locked eye to eye with a man completely devoid of emotion, concentrating on eliminating his target. Yazoo knew, better yet, he could feel that he wouldn't be able to avoid the next shot for inexplicable purposes.

A loud explosion was heard as the large piece of lead released itself from the chamber of the gun and sped towards Yazoo. Yazoo had been right in his assumption that he would be unable to avoid this shot, for it had been timed far too well and he was unable to steer out in time. As quick as the bullet itself, Yazoo had his Velvet Nightmare up just in time as the bullet hit it straight on and ricocheted off, with a loud clang. He fumbled for better grip in the next second as the impact of the bullet had caused him to lose a comfortable grip on his weapon.

Again, Derek wasted no time and with equal concentration, fired a second shot, straight at his opponent's head. Yazoo heard it and didn't even acknowledge the bullet as he swerved hard to the left. The stress the bike experienced at that moment from the extremely sharp turn was too much, even for a finely built and modified machine as itself.

"Fuck." Yazoo felt the bike giving way and was about to work on stabilizing it when a third shot rang out. The Velvet Nightmare was immediately knocked out of his hand in an instant and disappeared far behind at an exponential rate, similar to a car passing an opposing car on the freeway when side by side. He immediately thrust his right food down on the road, the smell of burning rubber and the feeling of heat now ever so abundant, and pulled a sharp 180 degree turn, bringing the bike back upright as it continued to move in the same direction as before, albeit backwards now. He braked hard and now the smell of burning rubber completely took over the previously sharp, heavy morning air. His right foot felt as if it was engulfed in flames but he paid it no attention and worked on getting the motorcycle to stop in order to retrieve his weapon and rendezvous with his brother.

They would settle this another time. He assured and guaranteed himself that they would definitely meet again. This was far from over.

Derek witnessed the scene from the top of the car. Yazoo would turn around to reclaim his weapon, he knew that. He would also most likely halt his pursuit of himself as the silver haired adversary was now miles ahead of his stationary ally, the short silver haired man.

It was just at that moment that Derek took notice of the car coming off the paved dry asphalt and hitting gravel. The car was nearing the side of the freeway. "Fuck!" With that, the orange haired individual made his way to the front and peered over the side and into the driver's seat. The scene was predictable enough. The woman had been shot and killed from his assailant's onslaught and barrage of bullets. Blood smeared the front windshield and partially covered up the side window of which he was looking through. Her seatbelt kept her upright but her head was down and bent forward in an awkward position, putting great strain on her neck. At this point, that simply didn't matter seeing as how she was devoid of life.

Derek slammed his left fist through the side window and shattered the glass into many tiny fragments, some clear, some tinted red; others completely painted the color crimson. As if his left arm wasn't damaged enough, he quickly put the lingering pain in the back of his mind as he slowly jerked the blood covered steering wheel in order to get the car back on the road. The ride had begun to get bumpy but in the next instant, all was fine as the rubber tires felt paved asphalt and the reunion of the two materials resulted in a smooth journey once more.

The next instant was going to present both an awkward and somewhat difficult scenario for Derek. He had to make his way into the car from the top, and worse, with a bloodied dead woman inside, now completely staining the interior of the car. The scent of blood had now been lingering for so long, with Derek's wounds, that the smell within the car itself did not affect him at all.

Derek steadied the steering wheel for a moment and when he was satisfied, he made his way to the other side of the car, to the passenger's side. He tried the door and it was locked. He let out a sigh. "Fucking great. Please, let this day just get worse, I don't mind at all," he cried out sarcastically to no one in particular.

Taking a heavy breath, Derek braced himself as he launched his right fist this time, into the side of the passenger's window and again, shattered it into tiny, unnoticeable shards. He reached lower and now had half his body suspended in a dangerous position, attempting to unlock the door from the inside.

The car was once again, slowly but surely, making its way off the road and Derek knew he had to hurry. The aggressive wind slapping him in the face and all across his body did not make the situation any easier. He fumbled for a moment and finally, with a sigh of relief, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. It spun outwards with great force and due to the wind, slammed right back in place, nearly taking off the injured man's arm, which had been in the way.

"Oh my god, fuck this day. Someone up there must really fucking hate me!" He was irate and had had enough of this. He pulled the door open, this time with such great force, which coupled with the wind, completely tore it off its hinges as it danced in the howling winds before making contact with the ground, many meters back of the speeding car. He smirked in satisfaction, seeing the door receive its deserving punishment.

After some struggle, Derek made it into the car. Surprisingly, it was with far more ease and far less risk as compared to getting the door open. He observed the lifeless lady, with her head hanging over her chest from the passenger's side. She had been a middle aged Caucasian woman with relatively short, straight dirty blonde hair, perhaps a mother and a spouse. Derek didn't really know nor did he care. He couldn't see her eyes and at the moment it didn't matter. He gripped the blood soaked steering wheel once again and for the second time, repositioned the car. He then bent down and removed the lady's foot from the gas. Instantly, the car began to decelerate. He then positioned the lady's foot over the brake and pressed down on her shoe.

The screeching of tires could be heard as the car slowed down rapidly. Unfortunately for Derek, who didn't have a seatbelt on at the moment, the sudden decrease in speed launched him straight into the cracked and nearly shattered front windshield. He braced with his right hand as it went through what was left of the glass. More cuts were received as more pathways opened up allowing blood to exit his arm. He cried out not in pain, but out of anger and frustration at his considerably poor luck at the moment.

"FUCK THIS SHIT!" And with that, he slammed the lady's foot down on the brake even harder until the car had come to a complete stop, leaving great tire marks all over the road behind. Derek parked the car, shut off the keys to the ignition, and laid his head back on the seat rest as he closed his eyes and calmed himself down. He opened them moments later, knowing that there was still the lingering possibility of the long silver haired menace returning. He would have to dispose of the woman's body or he could simply leave it in the car, but he would definitely have to exit the car before reaching a populated zone.

It seemed slightly unethical to leave a poor woman who did not deserve this fate, rotting in a broken down and nearly destroyed car, miles from civilization but Derek couldn't concern himself with that at the moment. He had bigger things to worry about. His number one priority was to find out how in one moment, he had been near the outskirts of Mideel and the next, waking up in an alien location, completely unaware of his surroundings.

He couldn't quite explain it, but he could sense something different about this place. Although the current climate didn't indicate it at the moment, the atmosphere itself here seemed to lack that extremely heavy mood of despair present from before. The heavy mood was there for the moment, but it felt temporary when compared to back home. It seemed as if this place lacked the lingering dark aura encircling the surroundings he hailed from. This area, although foreign to him, seemed to contain an air of tranquility and some peace, long missing from his own setting. He simply had to find out where he was and what had caused this. Then he would seek the answers as to who his two attackers had been and how they had been able to identify him as a SOLDIER.

That thought itself, disturbed him far greater than he imagined. They too, seemed to emanate a glow from their eyes when he had peered into them. They greatly reminded him of someone from the past, a 'living legend' as he had so been called. Loz didn't look so much like him but the other surely did, in more ways than one, from the hair, face and even eyes. The similarities were frightening. Had they been SOLDIER's as well? 'But that was impossible,' he thought as he would have surely recognized them from the past wouldn't he?

He wasn't so sure anymore for he couldn't even be so sure of himself anymore. His life was a fractured and disfigured puzzle, seeking pieces to complete it, but falling short. Even if he did find certain pieces, Derek was convinced that at this point, they probably wouldn't fit and complete the puzzle correctly anymore.

Shoving these thoughts aside, Derek returned back to the situation at hand. His first task was to find himself in this strange new setting and he would hopefully move onwards from there.

Casting one final glance at the woman before having to remove her out of her seat, he narrowed his tired eyes and spoke softly, "I'm sorry. I promise that if you want start a storm and engulf me in it, I won't stop you."

He closed his eyes briefly and opened them, now all devoid of emotion once more. He looked far ahead and could still see nothing but the stretch of the freeway. The sky was still grey and the light was still dim, with no apparent rays of sunlight breaking through the dark and cold luminous barrier.

It was indeed appropriate for both Derek and the mood that he, among the others were engulfed in. A cloud of sterility and an air of despair, perhaps foreshadowing things to come.

* * *

Loz patiently waited by his motorbike as a familiar figure approached him from a distance. Averting his gaze from the man heading towards him, Loz's eyes rested upon the mechanical device attached to his left arm. It was a rectangular metal contraption no longer than the size of a shoebox, although slightly thinner in width, just fitting across the back of his forearm, with two sharp points jutting out at the front, away from his fist.

He cautiously touched it with his gloved right hand, both admiring and loathing the chrome metal texture. In a way, it had become a vital appendage as with any other part of his body and he enjoyed the feats he was able to pull off as a result of it. He couldn't however, help but feel somewhat alienated from the rest, any shroud of humanity he had left slowly ebbing away.

"_What the fuck are your hands made of freak?"_

The words echoed throughout his head.

"I'm a freak." he whispered. He said it with such finality and such hopelessness that his gaze took on one of a very distraught child, accepting his impending fate and doom, being unable to do anything about it.

He glanced at the distorted reflection of himself through the "shock-box" as it had been nicknamed by him and his brothers. An appropriate name he thought, remembering it's ability to emit charged blasts of electric current. He continued to glance at his disfigured image through the reflection. A single droplet of liquid fell and splattered across the device, breaking him out of his reverie. It wasn't a droplet of rain, for although the clouds were an ominous thick sheet of grey that covered the sky in this particular region, it was and continued to be a dry day.

He quickly wiped his right eye with his gloved hand, ridding any possible evidence of what had transpired from his now arriving brother.

Loz watched as Yazoo approached, his face slightly contorted into one of anger. He slowed the bike down and came to a halt before shutting off the ignition to the engine off. He surveyed his surroundings briefly, before his eyes rested on Loz, who now sported the ever familiar callous expression he had grown accustomed to. Yazoo left his bike, never once breaking eye contact with Loz as he approached him.

"What were you doing?" It sounded more like an accusation than an actual question.

Loz's demeanor did not change. "Waiting for you." he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why didn't you get on your bike and resume the target?" Annoyance was noticeably creeping into his voice.

Loz couldn't help but ever so slightly smirk as he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head a little to the side. "Because dear _brother"_, the emphasis on the term brother did not go undetected by the other, "The bike is in no shape for travel seeing as how the target managed to blow my tire and cause heavy damage to the front chassis." He pointed to the front of his motorbike, indicating that the alignment was now out of place from the rough fall.

Yazoo had his arms crossed over his chest, his long hair partially hiding half his face from Loz's angle, as his gaze rested upon the slightly battered bike. After a brief moment, he looked up at the grey sky before his eyes returned to meet those of Loz. Letting his arms drop to his sides, he walked past Loz as he stared at the relatively close wreck of the semi a few hundred meters away. The same semi that had steered off the road after the driver had had his head filled with lead courtesy of Yazoo himself.

"We'll take the truck, load the bikes in the back." Loz spoke up, as if directly reading Yazoo's thoughts.

"Yes." The longer haired man nodded in approval, his back still turned to Loz. He then partially turned around, only half of him visible once more, as he stared at Loz from the corners of his eyes.

"We let him get away." Loz stated nonchalantly, looking down at his left arm, clutching his wrist and applying pressure to ensure that everything was fine after the fall from his bike.

"It won't happen again. I guarantee it." There was a violent snarl present in Yazoo's voice. No one had managed to escape before and with that not being the case this time, he was more determined than ever to finish what he had started that day. This was indeed far from over.

Loz smirked, "Of course it won't. We'll get him next time. You underestimated him."

Yazoo now directly faced Loz, a deadly gleam of light flickering in his glowing pale turquoise orbs, as if preparing to challenge his older brother. "You underestimated him as well."

"Yes. Which is why it won't happen again. He's like Strife. We'll meet him again shortly." He paused momentarily before continuing. "I can sense him. I know that he's here as well."

Yazoo remembered the spiky haired warrior whom they had encountered over the past week. They hadn't had the chance to end their confrontation the last time as the last thing he remembered after clashing with Cloud on his bike had been the blinding white flash of light, engulfing him and the others. It was here that he had awoken to, only Loz and him present with their bikes in the vicinity of this unknown area. He had felt his younger brother's presence in this unfamiliar land and had intended to make contact with him before a flash of orange hair blazed past the two stationary silver haired brothers.

Detecting a strong presence of Jenova within him as they had done with Cloud, they had chased after the unknown individual and so their earlier confrontation had begun.

Yazoo began walking back towards his bike. "Did you contact brother?"

"I wasn't able to reach him." With that, Loz hoisted the heavy piece of machinery that was his bike over his shoulder, balancing it as he made the relatively long trek to the site of the wreckage, where the semi had crashed earlier. "You can try, it was a while back when I did," he shouted over his shoulder as he continued to march towards the truck, with the lumbering bike positioned on his right deltoid.

Yazoo seated himself back on his bike and pulled out his cellular phone as he watched Loz. Glancing back down at the phone with a frown, he dialed his younger brother's number, hoping he would answer.

After five rings, the line on the other end picked up and a younger but still deep voice could be heard over the earpiece. "Yes?" it asked impatiently.

"Kadaj, where are you?"

"Why didn't you pick up the phone earlier?" Kadaj asked, ignoring his older brother's question.

"I was occupied with someone."

"Strife?"

"No. Another just like him. He was a SOLDIER."

"There are no other SOLDIER's."

"Except for this one," Yazoo interjected, annoyed at his brother's lack of faith in his judgment, "He was a nuisance."

There was a pause across the line as Yazoo awaited the response of his brother. "He got away?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes." Disappointment was evident in his voice. Disappointment and resentment more for himself than anyone else. He then added, "He has part of mother in him as well, just like Strife."

"Mother?" Kadaj repeated the word soon after across the line, surprise evident in his voice.

It was at this time that Yazoo looked up once more, taking note of how close Loz was to reaching the truck. "His name is Derek and he is undoubtedly a SOLDIER."

"Derek?" Kadaj rolled the name of his tongue trying to match the name with any potential face. "He's not familiar to me. You're sure about this?"

"Yes."

"What did he look like?"

Yazoo briefly envisioned the man he had briefly clashed with earlier. "Orange hair, messy. Blue eyes and white skin, some facial hair and seemed relatively tall, taller and larger than Strife." Yazoo thought a bit more, silence lingering before he continued, "Also perhaps older than Strife by a few years. Maybe twenty five or twenty six.

"Mako eyes?" Kadaj questioned from the other end.

"Yes." Yazoo had forgotten to add that part in, for it was that characteristic which supported the belief that one hailed from SOLDIER. Yazoo ignited the engine to his bike and left it to idle, intending on wrapping up his conversation with his younger brother for Loz had just about reached the truck.

"We'll deal with this later." Kadaj voiced over the line.

"Yes. Kadaj where are you." Yazoo asked for the second time.

"It is called Deling City."

"Deling City?" Yazoo questioned, unsure if he had heard his younger brother correctly the first time. The name was foreign to him and this only further supported his belief that they were all in an entirely alien setting. He glanced off to the side and from a distance, he spotted that yet another car was slowly approaching.

"Yes, Deling City." Kadaj addressed. "Large like Midgar and Junon but very different. It's quite…" He paused as if searching for the correct word in his mental vocabulary before continuing, "Peculiar. We'll deal with Strife and the newcomer later. For now, we need to meet."

"We'll find our way to Deling City."

"You're traveling on the bikes, correct?" Kadaj asked, intending to find out whether or not their bikes had made the trip along with them as his did.

"No. They're here but we're going to use a truck." As if sensing his younger brother's question, Yazoo quickly added, "Loz's bike sustained damage during the confrontation with the SOLDIER."

Kadaj released a very short and hollow bitter chuckle as if criticizing his older brothers capabilities in combat. "I see. Well, we'll meet shortly I hope. Find your way to Deling. I don't know where you are so I can't help you. Just find a way. And call before you arrive." With that, the beep on the other end of the line could be heard.

Yazoo turned off his phone, placing it back into his leather pocket. The red minivan was now well within view. His bike was on the left lane of the road and the car was approaching from the right, although slowing down as the couple inside began to grow aware of the scene up ahead.

"What the hell is that Claire?" The middle aged man in his forties asked his wife on the passenger's side of the seat as he slowed the car down and glanced off at that semi-truck that had crashed off to the side of the road.

"My god, that truck's gotten into an accident. Maybe this poor boy needs help." His wife gestured towards the long silver haired individual, who remained seated on his bike as the couple inside the car slowly approached him.

The husband seemed skeptical and had an uneasy feeling, taking note of the man's attire, which resembled that of military. "Claire, just let me do the talking."

She nodded, a slightly worried expression evident on her face. "Alright honey."

From several hundred meters away, Loz, with his enhanced eyesight could make out the minivan approaching Yazoo. He smirked as he climbed into the front of the truck after having tossed the bike in the back of the large cargo box. Of course, it had been locked but Loz had easily pried the metal doors open with his bare arms before tossing the bike in.

Now, as he approached the dead and blood soaked body of the senior truck driver, he stopped for a moment, observing the dead man, tilting his head to the side, making his face parallel with that of the driver's, which lay on the steering wheel, completely lifeless, eyes wide open and staring straight through Loz. When Loz had had enough of the little staring game, he grabbed the deceased man by the collar from the back of his shirt and flung him out the driver's door like a lifeless doll with one arm. He positioned himself in the driver's seat, ignoring the blood now present on his own suit as he once again, glanced off towards the car approaching his brother.

The red van was now no more than twenty meters away from the silver haired individual. As it approached closer, the husband rolled down his window and slightly stuck his head out

"Hello there!" The man shouted from the window as the car slowly approached Yazoo, who remained stationary on his still humming bike. His eyes were narrowed in a very eerie fashion as he slowly studied the man and then his wife through the windshield. He slowly reached for his Velvet Nightmare near his waist, hidden from view, from the couple.

The van was now only mere meters away from him on the opposing lane as it came to a halt. The husband stuck his head out the window completely now, resting his left arm on the doorframe.

"Is everything alright here? What's that truck doing over there." The man shouted to Yazoo, who remained perfectly still, his face completely absent of emotion, completely expressionless, save aside for his narrowed eyes, producing a bored look. Yazoo's intense stare began making the man in the car fidget as he began to feel nervous. It wasn't simply his stare, it was his attire and his look. He eyes seemed to radiate an eerie glow and his long platinum hair did not seem natural, appearing as if it were the result of radiation. Simply put, the man on the motorcycle appeared as if he was the product of some freak experiment in the husband's eyes.

What he didn't know, was that this was indeed not far from the truth.

"Honey," his wife began, also beginning to feel uncomfortable, "Maybe we should-"

"Just a second Claire." Her husband interrupted. "I'm Phil, what's your name son?"

"Yazoo" he said calmly.

"Yazoo?" The husband repeated, slightly perplexed. "That's an odd name."

It was then that Yazoo smirked and raised his Velvet Nightmare, pointing it straight at the husband. "It's so nice to meet you." He added calmly.

Shrieks and screams were heard from inside the car, now mixed with the crying of a small child as Yazoo emptied several shots both at the husband and wife. The sounds of the bullets ejecting from the chamber of his firearm drowned out the shrill screams of horror and pain from the couple, their bodies jerking from the impact of the bullets and being painted the color of crimson, splattering the insides of the car with the same color as well.

After the brief violence and chaos came to a halt, the deafening sounds of the bullets and the screams died down as well, leaving only the wailing cries of a small child in the back seat of the van.

Yazoo shut off the ignition to his bike once more and calmly got off his bike, putting down the kickstand. He quietly approached the now blood soaked car, perfectly complimenting the deep red color from outside. His smirk grew wider as he approached the rear doors of the van, the screaming of an infant becoming louder with each passing step.

The day had grown brighter, indicating that it was in the stages of noon. Although the clouds themselves had not dispersed and continued to cast an infinite grey blanket that stretched across the sky, there was no doubting that more light was seeping through the impenetrable layer.

When he was right by the rear left door of the van, he glanced inside, looking past his reflection through the clear glass and at a very small child, no older than a half a year, resting in a baby seat, dressed in a white jumpsuit, crying his or her heart out. The baby's face was beet red and Yazoo's smirk grew wider as he watched the child go on about, trying to seek attention with it's undying sobs.

"Your parent's aren't here to help you." He voiced very calmly and softly, almost in a maniac tone.

The newborn's eyes were barely open as tears poured down his or her small face. Every now and then, the child would stop for a brief moment for an intake of air, tiny lungs desperately trying to keep up, before resuming sobbing.

Yazoo simply stared through the glass, seeing both his reflection and the child blend in at the same time. The image no longer seeming real, as if it had taken up another form and manifested itself into a figure of monstrosity.

The child continued to wail, sobbing desperately in an attempt to seek comfort from its mother or perhaps even father.

"Shut up." The simple statement from Yazoo.

His smirk now widened into a full fledged smile as he raised his Velvet Nightmare at the glass and shot straight into the direction of the child.

One shot rang out and echoed across the vast empty highway. A flock of birds flying in sync broke off and parted in different directions. Loz looked on from inside the truck, watching his younger brother. He smirked and shook his head, starting up the truck, which had shut off after crashing.

The wailing of the child had ceased and Yazoo no longer saw his reflection. Instead, through the shattered window, he stared at the now lifeless infant, with a bullet lodged straight in the forehead. What little blood the child contained in it's fragile body seeped out of its head and mouth as it remained lifeless, like a doll that you purchase at a store.

Yazoo also saw something else when he stepped back. He saw the faceless parents who were his own. The mysterious people who had been responsible for his creation. The image was abstract. He couldn't identify them no matter how hard he tried for they remained faceless. Now the child and him shared something. They both had no parents.

"Mother… Jenova." He stated wistfully as he stared off into the sky.

Yazoo lowered his weapon and turned, making his way back to his bike. A brief gust of wind cause his hair to flicker to the side as he left the vicinity of the car. Seating himself on his bike once more, he ignited the engine and hit the throttle. Taking one last glance at the car now housing no life, when just moments before, it contained an energetic young family, he swerved his bike while holding the brake, the tires peeling out from underneath.

As he made his way towards Loz and the truck, he turned and aimed for the gas tank of the car, firing several shots. He watched the bullets make contact with the car as began to light up in a blaze.

"Burn." He whispered in a raspy voice as he sped away, the car behind him exploding from the sparks created by the bullets making contact with the tank, igniting the fuel inside, scorching the already destroyed family inside.


	3. A Blooming Flower

**A Blooming Flower**

* * *

Squall drew the blinds in his dorm and gazed out the window. He frowned ever so slightly as he put on his white shirt.

Gazing out into the vast ocean, Squall could see nothing but endless water. It was around 8:00 am in the morning and it appeared as if today would be a grey day. A thick blanket of clouds covered the entire morning sky, letting miniscule amounts of light to seep through. The water seemed steady indicating that no winds or very few were present.

Balamb Garden was slowly cruising along the calm ocean on what appeared to be another tranquil day. They were somewhat close to the western continent, a few hundred miles underneath the bridge that connected Galbadia to Esthar. The Garden had no course, no set destination for the past few months following the defeat of Ultemicia had put the world back into a steady state. Nothing was perfect, but people were slowly adjusting back to their normal lifestyles following the hostility of the Galbadians and their quest for power.

The Garden had now become completely mobile, no longer operating solely in Balamb. People had wondered, following the destruction of Trabia Garden and the shutting down of Galbadia Garden as to whether or not Balamb would simply be called 'Garden' henceforth. This was not the case however, as it was made clear by headmaster Cid that Trabia was undergoing full repairs and would be operational again in the next few years while Galbadia would possibly start up at a later date, assuming all civil disputes in Galbadia be resolved by then. Therefore, Balamb would still be under its full name, for it would not be the lone mercenary housing base.

Squall felt relaxed and at peace. Although he wouldn't admit it, he had enjoyed these past few months greatly, being able to spend his time with his new 'friends'. He found the word somewhat difficult to comprehend for he was still slowly but gradually adjusting. Having spent the majority of his childhood and teenage years growing up in solitude, he was still learning about relationships. The changes in him were subtle. He had gone from a cold, careless individual to a tolerable person who still remained on the quiet side. His friends never pushed him past his own comfort level for they understood that they had to go slow with him.

A flower blooms slowly. Try and make it open up too quickly, and you could ruin the entire moment. This was the case with Squall as well.

Squall glanced at his infamous leather jacket that hung neatly over his chair. Contemplating whether to put it on or not, he chose the latter as the day was relatively warm. He closed the door to his dorm and proceeded down the hallway towards the cafeteria where he would meet his 'friends'.

Squall chuckled ever so slightly and shook his head. He still had trouble accepting the fact that he now had friends. He couldn't believe the transformation he had undergone all as a result of them. In particular, her. Squall's face took on a serious expression as he reflected on Rinoa. She had been mostly responsible for his now more positive outlook in life and his somewhat more outgoing personality. In a way, he mildly hated her for what she had done to him, stripping the cold soldier of his duty bound personality and instead injecting him with life and a desire to live, something he hadn't cared much for prior to meeting her. At the same time however, Squall greatly appreciated how she had opened him up.

On the Ragnorak, she had been right, about the fact that he had missed out on many things in life as a result of wanting to isolate himself from others.

He smiled contently as he approached the doors to the cafeteria. The smile was very small, barely noticeable but it was there nevertheless. Squall opened the door to the cafeteria as he strode in, surveying his surroundings.

It was fairly busy, as was normal for this time of the morning. Students were scattered everywhere around the large cafeteria, occupying many tables. They were all chatting, engaging in conversation. Some were laughing; some were playfully teasing each other, others attempting to disgust their friends by revealing the contents of their half chewed food in their mouths. Squall took it all in. Before, the liveliness would have bothered him as he often preferred more quiet environments but now, it brought him some small sense of satisfaction, knowing that others were enjoying life as well.

'Damn you Rinoa', he thought as he shook his head. 'Look what you did to me.' Squall spotted his table, located off to the far right, near the corner of the large room. He appreciated the thought, knowing that his friends specifically chose that spot so he wouldn't be in the middle of the spotlight.

Defeating the sorceress who threatened to destroy the world by compressing time was no small feat and the recognition that followed showed. Everywhere they went, the six legendary Seeds who had saved the world from the brink of disaster were treated like gods and celebrities. News traveled fast of their accomplishments and even those who had been oblivious to the entire ordeal heard of them at some point or another. Here at Garden, it was a different story. True, Squall and the others were treated with great respect and received a lot of attention from their fellow peers but it wasn't nearly as bad as when they were outside Garden territory. Here, the other cadets and Seeds respected their desire to have their own privacy, and as a result, they lived in comfort within the confines of their 'home'.

Squall approached the table, receiving several nods and greetings from his peers. He acknowledged them as he made his way to the table that occupied everyone except Zell. Quistis was sipping on a cup of coffee as she smiled warmly upon noticing Squall. Selphie, as usual, was cheery as ever, bouncing up and down as she waved excitedly to him. Irvine seemed to be deep in thought, with his head down, his cowboy hat covering his face. Lastly, there was Rinoa, who gave Squall the best smile she could muster upon seeing him.

"Hey." She greeted him, standing up and walking over to him, giving him a light embrace. He accepted the embrace and hugged her back for a moment before releasing her. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she took her seat once more, signaling for him to sit beside her.

Selphie and Quistis smiled, seeing Squall in the mood he was in now, accepting Rinoa's embrace. He had truly changed.

"Woke up a little late today Squall?" Quistis shot him a questioning look as she took another sip of her coffee.

He shrugged. "I felt like sleeping a little."

"No crime in that Squall, we're all human." She replied.

Rinoa still had a smile plastered on her face as she continued to gaze at Squall, who now sat to her right.

"What?" He asked, taking notice of her gaze.

"Nothing, I just missed you."

"You just saw me yesterday." He raised an eyebrow.

"I know." She lowered her head and stared at the floor for a moment. She felt her cheeks heat up as her face slightly flushed and turned red. Selphie smiled as did Squall.

"Hey come on now," he reassured her as he put an arm over her and brought her closer to him, "I missed you too alright?" He put a hand under her chin and lifted her face up to meet his gaze. The other two women watched on in fascination as Squall and Rinoa were lost in their own world for a brief moment, eyes locked, unwilling to part.

Rinoa was the first to snap out of her reverie. Offering him another bright smile, she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before changing the subject. "Where's Zell by the way? Has anyone seen him?"

Quistis shook her head as Squall took his arm off of Rinoa. "I haven't seen him yet this morning and I've been here for almost forty minutes." She then looked over at the still motionless Irvine. "He was here before me."

"What's up with Irvine?" Squall questioned. The cowboy had barely moved a muscle since he had sat down.

"Well," Quistis continued, "He talked to me earlier but when Selphie came, he just drifted off into his own world. I never really noticed how quiet he became."

"Irvine!" Selphie shouted, catching the attention of a few nearby individuals, "Are you awake?"

Irvine's head immediately shot up as he peered across at Selphie. He glared at her for a moment as if not recognizing her before his flirtatious smile replaced it. "Of course. Why would you think I'm sleeping?"

Quistis looked at him curiously. "Because you've barely said anything since we got here."

"He's like another Squall!" Selphie blurted out.

Quistis tried to suppress a chuckle but failed as did Rinoa. They both looked at Squall nervously, with Rinoa biting her lip in anticipation, wondering what Squall's reaction would be. To their surprise, he took it lightly and smiled one of his rare smiles which Rinoa greatly cherished. She was happy to see him like this.

It was Irvine who wasn't laughing. "Yeah we wouldn't want that would we?" he said in a chilling manner.

Selphie stopped laughing as Irvine's piercing eyes burned through her, making her slightly uncomfortable. He smiled faintly before getting up.

"Where are you going?" Quistis asked, looking up at him.

"I'm going to find Zell, see where he is."

"Yeah, tell him that they're offering sausages for breakfast," Rinoa joked, "He'll definitely come running.

"Yeah…" Tipping his hat to his friends, Irvine strolled out of the cafeteria and into the halls of Garden.

The halls were fairly empty at this time for nearly everyone was either still asleep or in the cafeteria. Irvine passed several people on his way to the male dorms, including several attractive young female cadets who smiled at him while passing by. The cowboy had a reputation for being a ladies man and was known to be quite the charmer. He had only really been residing in Balamb Garden for a few months, taking up permanent residence following the defeat of Ultemicia. Already however, he had become popular among the ladies and for that reason, was despised by a large majority of the male population.

Today, Irvine paid the females he passed no attention as he walked along quietly through the halls of the dorms and towards Zell's room. More females continued to walk by, offering him their own flirtatious grins, which he ignored.

Despite his womanizing attitude, he truly only wanted one female and that was Selphie. He had adored since they were at the orphanage. Parting ways, only to meet up after so many years only further made him believe that she was the one for him. Yet despite his advances, she continued time and time again to reject him and shy away from him. Initially, Irvine had enjoyed it, taking it as a game of hard-to-get but after the few weeks turned into a few months, his patience wore thin as he realized that Selphie wasn't playing, but in fact, was truly not interested in pursuing a relationship with him.

'What the fuck is there not to like?' He wondered as he strolled closer to Zell's room. 'I'm always nice to her, I treat her well, I show her respect and she still avoids me like the plague.' Irvine frowned as he continued walking. He needed to figure out a way to show her that he wasn't interested in her as a simple fling, but instead, wished to have a serious relationship with her. 'Maybe that's why. She's scared. Probably thinks I'm gonna just screw her and dump her like the next chick.'

He shook his head, after realizing this. He was at Zell's door. The halls were empty save aside for the few students who had woken up and were making their way to the cafeteria.

Knocking on the door, Irvine waited. Nothing. He knocked again, much harder this time. "Zell it's me, get your lazy ass up." He shouted. Again there was no response. Irvine waited impatiently for a moment before banging the door with far more force this time. "I said open up! I know you're in there!"

He heard shuffling and the sound of footsteps on the other side. The footsteps stopped at the door and it was quiet for a moment as Irvine stared at the floor by the door, waiting. The sound of footsteps was heard again soon after, walking away from the door, before disappearing.

"What the fuck?" The cowboy muttered. "Zell, I know you're in there. I heard you! Open up!" He was losing his patience. He slammed his fist at the door again, causing louder thuds to be heard from the other side.

Finally, a reply was heard. "Go away Kinneas." The voice was soft and sounded as if it were strained or filled with sorrow.

It took Irvine slightly off guard as he quit beating on the door and lowered his fist. "Zell come on, open up. It's just me, no one else." His voice had become softer as well.

"I know it's only you, I saw through the peek hole."

"So then open up and let me in. Come on; don't leave me standing out here all day." Irvine had regained his composure and was calm once more. He figured the best way to get Zell to agree with him was to show that he wasn't high on rage.

"I…" Irvine could hear the hesitation from Zell's voice across the door as he waited for him to continue. "No… Just go away. Please man. I'm asking you as a friend." Zell now sounded more strained than before, as if he were painfully forcing the words out of his mouth.

Irvine sighed. "Zell… Just let me in and tell me what's going on. I'm asking _you as a friend_, to let me in." He hoped the psychology would work and convince the spiky haired martial artist to open up.

He waited for a moment, anticipating the moment when Zell would open up the door. It never happened. He stood there for a moment, staring at the door before sighing.

Finding no other alternative, Irvine glanced to his left and right, making sure that no eyes were on him for what he was about to do. Taking a metallic keycard out and a small metal wire, he picked at Zell's knob ever so quietly, to ensure that the martial artist wouldn't become aware of his intentions. The seconds turned into minutes as he tried unsuccessfully to pick open Zell's door.

The martial artist inside, had stopped to listen, checking to find out whether or not Irvine had finally given up and disappeared. He was suspicious after all, how a persistent cowboy could be so loud one moment and then give up in the next. He walked up to his door stealthily and checked through the peep-hole. Nothing. Putting his right ear on the door, Zell listened for any sounds of Irvine on the other side. He heard odd scratching noises that were fairly close, near the handle.

"What the hell is that?" He whispered to himself, arching an eyebrow in confusion.

The scratching and grinding sounds continued for a moment. Zell didn't have enough time to dwell on the issue as the door came flying open the next moment, knocking him down on the ground and hitting the left leg that was caught in the way. Light flooded the dark room as it poured in from the hallways. The sudden existence of light burned at Zell's eyes, which had been used to seeing nothing but black the past few hours.

The martial artist growled as he looked up towards the entrance to the door from the floor. It was none other than the cowboy himself in all his glory, grinning dumbly from ear to ear in a look of triumph. He beamed at his accomplishment as he crossed his arms over his chest with his head held up high purposely, in an attempt to gloat.

"Howdy." Irvine tipped his hat towards Zell.

Zell launched himself off the ground, grabbed Irvine by the collars of his jacket and pinned him up against the wall hard. "I told you to fuck off!" He shouted in a high whisper through clenched teeth. His gaze was fierce and he was locked eye to eye with Irvine.

The taller cowboy had been surprised at Zell's aggressive outburst and the attack but decided not to provoke him further. Being calm was the best way to go. He simply left his arms at the side and allowed Zell to continue pinning him. "And I told you to let me in."

"I didn't let you in for a reason!" Zell was furious but his grip was loosening up. Giving him one last glare, he finally let go of the taller cowboy as he slammed the door hard, clearing the room of all light once more.

Irvine straightened up his long brown coat in what little light there was in the room, squeaking in through the still shut blinds at this time of morning. "So… Are you gonna let some light in here or what?" He still held that playful and joking attitude, directly contrasting Zell's dead serious and menacing one.

Zell strolled through the darkness and away from Irvine, deeper into his room, ignoring the cowboy's question. "What do you want Irvine?" The cowboy responded by going over to the blinds, playing Zell's game by ignoring his question as well. "Don't touch the blinds Irvine."

"Why not? You can't see shit in here."

"That's the way I like it right now okay?!" His voice rose during the end, his patience wearing thin. "So fuck off and stop trying to piss me off more!" Zell's eyes were menacing and on fire. Even in the extremely dim room, one would not find it difficult to notice the boiling rage evident in the martial artist's orbs.

Irvine put up his hands in defense. "Whoa. Alright, alright. If you really don't want light in here, we won't have any." He looked around the room. "We'll just sit here… In the dark… I guess." With that he took off his cowboy hat and tossed it on a nearby desk before plopping himself up on the back of the bed, crossing his feet and his arms over his chest. "So? What's new?"

If looks could kill, Zell's would have sent Irvine's body to the morgue faster than he would have been able to shout "women!".

"Irvine, when I said I didn't want you here, I meant it." His voice quieted down this time, becoming softer as he put a hand over his face. "Please… Just leave me alone."

The smile on Irvine's face finally disappeared, being replaced by a small frown. "Why? What's up with you today? Actually, what's been up with you these last few days? We haven't seen you. Just tell me, we're buds aren't we?"

"Whatever…"

Irvine's mouth hung open in shock. "What did you just say?" The smile returned to his face once more.

Zell, having realized his response, was unable to suppress a slight grin as well as he quickly replied, "Nothing. Damnit Irvine, just stop bothering me." He was in no mood to be happy or laughing and Irvine was making it worse playing his 'cheer up' game.

"Okay Squall Jr." The cowboy still had not moved from his comfortable position on the bed.

"Fuck off." It was simple, to the point, and very concise. Zell had now seated himself on the chair by his desk, his eyes fixed on the floor, which to him, seemed as if it were the most interesting thing to look at, at the moment. He was lost in his own world, his face returning to its sorrowful expression.

A long moment of silence passed between the two. During it, there was no awkwardness or need for one of them to break it. It was an understanding between the two that needn't be exchanged through words. They both reflected on the past, on their friends, on themselves and who they really were.

Finally, Irvine glanced up, having had his head down in thought. "What's pissing you off?" He was curious what had changed the usually energetic and cheerful Zell into a very depressed looking individual.

Zell sighed but the look of anger and frustration was no longer on his face. He paused for a while, contemplating whether or not he should talk. Finally, he spoke up. "Stuff." He got up and walked over the blinds, which after some hesitation, he finally drew, letting the morning light enter through the large rectangular window. Zell took notice that the skies were grey, as if mocking him, by painting a bleak picture in relation to his bleak outlook on things. "Even mother nature is takin' shots at me."

"Whatever you want to say, if you want, it'll stay between you and me." Irvine glanced out the window, also taking notice of the placid weather.

Zell took a deep breath and turned to look at Irvine for a moment before returning his gaze to the window. "Sometimes Irvine, the world is a really cruel place don't you think?" His face had taken up the look of sorrow and pain once again.

Irvine studied Zell's face, the light illuminating one side, but masking the other in shadow from his position by the window, creating a contrast of black and white across the martial artist's face.

After another moment of silence, Irvine spoke up, softly this time. "It's like… Fate decides to be really cruel to you. All the things you do, they get washed down the drain as if they were nothing." He frowned this time, and his voice rose in anger unconsciously. "You'd think some of us who are deserving would get a break, but we don't. You're always meant to suffer aren't you? Can't escape the endless pit of despair."

Zell hung on to every word Irvine had said and gave a single nod. "Yeah…" He paused, searching for the right thing to say. "Some people are drawn to tragedy."

The cowboy glanced up again, his eyes revealing pained and conflicting emotions. He spoke up, trying to mask his own frustrations. "We all haven't seen you in two days, not counting this morning. Then I come in here and you attack me. And then you start spewing me with some philosophical speech. Are you gonna tell me what's bothering you or not?" This was the third time he had asked Zell.

And for the third time, Zell avoided answering. "I'm sorry about earlier, I'm just a little down these days."

Irvine raised an eyebrow. That was evidently apparent, what he wanted to know, was why. "Girl problems?"

Zell shook his head and looked at the floor. "I wish," he muttered.

All of a sudden, the importance of digging into Zell's problem took a backseat as Irvine's face contorted into one of anger, having remembered his own. "I'm having my own girl problems."

Sensing an opportunity to steer clear of having a conversation about his own conflicts, Zell decided to investigate someone else's dilemmas, as a temporary escape from his own.

"Selphie?" The martial artist questioned.

Irvine took the bait and gave a single nod, his eyes lost, and his face in a daze. Finally, he snapped out of it but continued staring at the barely lit wall ahead of him. "She acts like I'm not even there." Irvine breathed heavily and closed his eyes. 'Careful Irvine,' he reminded himself, 'Be careful not to reveal too much.'

"Feels like you're neglected huh?" Zell spoke in understanding. "Join the club." His voice had become even softer, a little higher than a whisper.

Irvine looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about? Why should you feel neglected?"

The spiky haired man shrugged. "I-" He paused and rubbed his hand over his face. He turned around and leaned his back on the window, his legs crossed and his arms crossed over his chest. "Just take it from me, just because I'm in the group doesn't mean I don't feel left out."

"How are you left out though?" Irvine sat up and got up off the bed, heading over to Zell's mini fridge. "You mind?" He gestured towards the fridge.

"Knock yourself out."

Irvine grabbed a can of soda from the fridge before returning to the bed. "I guess we're in the same boat huh? We're both outsiders, looking through the window and inside."

The martial artist shrugged. "I guess. I mean, I'm always being treated like a kid sometimes. They never take me seriously. Especially Rinoa. Man, sometimes she really gets on-" He stopped himself before continuing further, knowing that he may have said something he would later go on to regret, not to mention the fact that Irvine was there.

But Irvine had picked up on what Zell was trying to say and stopped fighting against his mind's wishes to keep his feelings to himself. He simply let go of what was on his chest, after realizing Zell felt almost the same way. "I know what you mean. Rinoa can sometimes be such a bitch."

Zell stared at his friend in shock. His eyes wide with surprise. "Irvine- What?" He hadn't expected the cowboy to ever say something like that, especially about one of their inner friends.

Irvine felt the guilt immediately and regretted what he had just said. He hung his head, avoiding Zell's surprise filled eyes. "I didn't mean it like that. I-" He was at a loss for words, knowing that he had screwed up. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, before opening them up and continuing on, with newfound confidence this time. "She's nice and I really do care about her. Sometimes though, she can act so condescending, treating me as if I'm lower than her."

Zell was still in a state of shock, taking all this new information in. Irvine had come in, trying to console him about his problems but it never occurred to him that Irvine may have needed some consoling as well. This seemed as if it were far more serious than just simple romantic 'girl problems' that Irvine often found himself with. "Irvine man, I know that-"

But Irvine cut him off again, raising a hand, indicating that he wished to continue. He had already started and now he needed to get this all off his chest before it would compile up and explode on him. "I mean, me, you, Squall, Quisty and Selphie all grew up together and we've known each other way longer than she has." He wanted to stop now, but he couldn't, the words flowing out much easier as he continued to speak. "Then she comes and all of a sudden, I become the stranger and she doesn't? What the fuck is up with that? It pisses me off!" That last sentence had been uttered with a clear tone of bitterness. Irvine was now clenching his right fist in anger and continued to squeeze harder and harder until it began to hurt.

Zell could do nothing but stare at Irvine nervously. It seemed that there were far deeper problems rooted into the ground than he had originally anticipated. "Irvine?" He spoke quietly and calmly, catching the cowboy's gaze. "You don't hate her do you?"

Irvine's face, which held a look of anger a moment ago, relaxed as it took a calm expression. He had to choose his words extremely carefully for there was no knowing what Zell would say to the others. "I don't hate her. Sometimes, she just really bothers me."

"Have you spoken to her about this? About how she makes you feel? How she treats you?" Zell inquired.

Irvine shook his head, his eyes now closed. "No. If I do, it might make it worse and ruin our friendship."

Zell looked at him in confusion, one eyebrow arched upwards. "But it's already causing you pain. You should tell her instead of lying to her by pretending everything's ok!"

"I'm not lying to her!" Irvine shouted, his eyes glaring murderously at Zell, who stood still by the window. It was a frightening shout which had never been heard before coming from Irvine.

The martial artist continued to stand still, remaining quiet, wisely choosing not to anger Irvine further at the moment. The cowboy was never one to lose his temper so bad, to the point of completely exploding as he had just done. He always had a charming, playful and flirtatious personality. It was true that he was known to be somewhat of a coward, but that had stayed within the small group of friends, for they were all extremely close following their experiences. They were an extremely tightly knit group that trusted and cared about each other. At least, that was how it was seen in the public eye. This was clearly not the case, as Zell was beginning to realize, having just heard Irvine's claims.

It was a while before anyone spoke up. It was Irvine again, who continued, much more calmly this time, regaining his composure. "I told you, I do care about her. She's my friend and I'm not gonna make it any worse by telling her these things. Do you know what that would do?" He looked up at Zell in panic. "I already made a mistake by telling you this."

"No Irvine," Zell quickly spoke up, trying to reassure the worried cowboy, "It was a good thing you told me. Like you said, we're buds and it's good to get shit off your chest, you know?" Zell immediately rolled his eyes afterwards. "Fuck, I'm sounding like Raijin."

Irvine ignored the last comment as he stared hard at Zell. "You- You won't tell anyone will you?" I mean-"

"No, this stays between friends." Zell reassured him once more. He found it somewhat amusing how Irvine had come in earlier with the intention of helping out a friend, yet the roles had reversed in due time.

Irvine closed his eyes and nodded slowly, relaxing a little. "Thanks Zell." He opened his eyes and looked at Zell once more, who still stood by the window, awaiting further comment. "You know, if I did tell her, think about what that would do to the others, especially Squall. That's another reason I can't say anything. Things would get weird with him then because they're so close and I don't wanna piss him off." He paused before continuing. "There's no reason to piss him off."

"You could try telling it to her in some other fashion. Try it subtly" Zell suggested.

Irvine pondered this for a moment. "Maybe. I don't know, for now, I think this is the best way to go."

Zell looked at his friend sadly. He was suffering also and pretended as if everything were fine. "Irvine I'm telling you, it's not good to keep this over the long run. You have to tell her but tell her how you feel softly. She'll understand."

Irvine wanted to get off this topic of conversation. He no longer wished to discuss his problems involving Rinoa. He looked up at Zell with his old smile plastered on his face once more. "You never did tell me what was bothering you."

Zell was caught off guard. The cowboy had undergone a significant emotional transformation in the span of a few seconds, from angry, to sad, and back to his usual self. It was very odd. "Well… Compared to what you have going on, I have nothing on you, so it really doesn't matter."

The cowboy shook his head, not accepting that. "Nah, come on. I told you, now you can tell me. What? You don't trust me too?" He gave the martial artist a playful evil look.

Zell laughed. His first laugh in over three days. "Trust me, it's nothing. Just one of those moods," he lied. "Besides, I'm laughing, haven't done that in a few days."

Irvine looked at him in surprise. "Not like you Zell. Usually, you're laughing and smiling the most next to Selphie."

Zell smiled at that too. He wanted to shake off this conversation as much as Irvine had wanted to shake of his earlier. "Like I said, it's nothing. I guess I overreacted." He was doing a good job pretending he was indeed fine and that he wasn't troubled.

Irvine looked at him thoroughly once more before getting up and walking to the door of the room. "So everything's good? You sure?"

Zell crossed his arms and followed Irvine to the door slowly. "Everything's good."

Irvine of course, was not one to be fooled and therefore, he was not convinced but decided to let it go for the time being. "Alright, but if not, let me know ok? We don't want our Zell depressed."

Zell smiled again, this time, it seemed more genuine. "I'm fine Irvine, thanks for coming."

Irvine opened the door and headed out, throwing a look over his shoulder as he marched down the hall and shouted, "Glad to have our Zell back!"

Zell watched him disappear for a moment across the hall before he went back inside his room and shut the door. His smile immediately disappeared once more as his face returned to its sorrowful expression. Turning around, he walked over the window and peered out at the grey sky.

* * *

Breakfast was over and the table as well as most of the cafeteria had cleared. Quistis had gone with Selphie to meet up with Xu. The reasons unknown. That left Squall and Rinoa, who walked throughout the semi-crowded halls of Garden towards the dorms.

"So what are you doing today?" Rinoa asked playfully, latching her right arm with his left. For once, Rinoa didn't feel the smooth leather from Squall's jacket across her bicep. Today, she simply felt another person's flesh. It seemed so fragile yet she enjoyed feeling his arm without a barrier coming in the way.

Squall didn't refuse or protest as he continued walking and staring straight ahead. He appeared to be lost in thought, his eyes calm and relaxed. Just as it appeared that he wouldn't say anything, he spoke up. "I know Cid wanted to see me. I don't know what for though."

"When's that?" She looked up at him from his left, a curious expression plastered on her face.

"Soon. Actually at 10:00 he said." The commander continued looking straight ahead, walking towards the dorms.

Rinoa smiled and looked at him flirtatiously. "So does that mean, you're free afterwards?" She looked at him in an innocent fashion.

That was when Squall directed his gaze towards hers as well. She was looking at him with a bright smile on her face, which in turn, made him smile too. "Assuming he doesn't have anything for me after the appointment, then yeah… I'm free. Why?"

"Good." She looked to her left and caught sight of Irvine who was approaching in the opposite direction. "Hey Irvine!" she shouted to him.

The cowboy had had his head down and immediately looked up following the call of his name. Catching sight of the approaching couple, Irvine put on his usual smile and casually walked over to them. "Howdy."

Rinoa studied him before speaking. "So did you talk to Zell?"

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence, Rinoa anticipating him saying more. Finally, after realizing he wouldn't, she spoke up again. "Well? How is he? What did he say?"

"He's fine. Just been a little tired these days I guess." Irvine lied. He knew there was something deeper going on with Zell but he himself didn't know what as well and didn't wish to stir up concern from the others. It seemed that at the moment, Zell simply wished to be alone and Irvine wanted to grant him his wishes. "I think he just needs some time alone."

Predictably, Rinoa's face had formed into one of concern as she bit her lip. "Well ok… Maybe we should go see him later." She looked at Squall, indicating that 'we' included him as well.

Squall looked at her briefly, then at Irvine before looking away altogether. "Whatever."

"Squall!" Rinoa reprimanded him immediately.

"What?" He asked her, clearly annoyed all of a sudden

"He's your friend, you should care." She was irritated as well, at his lack of respect even now, for others.

"I said whatever. Not whatever as in 'I don't care'. Whatever as in 'alright, we'll see him'. Ok?" He looked at her, his face a mixture of slight anger, impatience and a hint of amusement.

Rinoa immediately blushed as her face turned red once more and looked away for a moment. "I'm sorry," she apologized sincerely, "I thought you were just doing what you normally do."

"Rinoa-" Squall began.

Irvine had watched in amusement but decided to butt in. "Sorry to interrupt you two, but I have to get going anyways. I'll see you two later then!" he shouted as he walked quickly down the hall.

Squall and Rinoa paused, watching him disappear before the young brunette shouted after the cowboy, "For lunch then!"

"You got it!" A reply was shouted back.

Several students stopped to stare. Rinoa, all of a sudden becoming self-aware and conscious, blushed even more at all the stares she was receiving.

Squall noticed her discomfort and guided her towards their original destination: the dorms. "Come on. I'll take you to your room. Then I have to go meet up with Cid."

Rinoa looked at him once more, as she continued to stroll with him down the halls. "And then afterwards…" She voiced seductively, hinting at something mischievous.

"What?" Squall looked at her, all of a sudden becoming nervous and more aware of her close proximity. Her body was rubbing into his and sending tingles throughout. "Uh… Afterwards what?" He was now visibly becoming uncomfortable and began to tense up.

Rinoa took notice as a mischievous smile made its way on her face. She was enjoying the effect she was having on him. "You'll see…" She left it at that as she unlatched her arm from his and walked herself the rest of the way to the female dorm section. Turning around, she continued playfully walking towards the dorms backwards and blew him a kiss. "You better go. Don't wanna miss your appointment now do you _commander_?" Her voice contained a teasing tone to it.

Squall simply stood there in awe, watching as she disappeared around the corner. Others in the hallway were watching the scene with interest, wondering what had happened exactly. Squall finally turned around ever so slowly, with a smile creeping up on his face, now visible to everyone around him, as he made his way towards the elevator and to Cid's office.

This had turned out to be a good day after all for him.

* * *

Author's Notes: Quite the change of pace wouldn't you say so? Like the genre category of the story suggests, this is both an action/adventure and a drama. It won't simply all be mindless chaos and fighting. I'm going to try and incorporate some internal conflicts and personal real-to-life problems that will attempt to blend in with the overall dilemma, so all types of readers will get something to read hopefully.

**Any constructive criticsm is appreciated. Thanks for pointing out some of my flaws. I know there will be errors but I will try and minimize them to the best of my ability. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Urban Playground

**Urban Playground **

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* * *

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The first thing Tidus had received upon entering the alien city was stares. Stares from people all across that happened to walk within a close vicinity to the young warrior. He had to admit himself that in this strange new location, his attire seemed somewhat 'out of place'. That itself was an understatement as he looked ridiculous compared to the rest of the population.

The people here sported what seemed to be far less vibrant clothing. Most of it appeared dull and foreign to him. People wore symmetrical pants that reached all the way past their knees, covering the entire portion of their legs. This was complimented usually by either some type of simple dress shirt and a garment that sat overtop: a jacket.

In comparison to the dull looking clothing these people wore, Tidus easily stood out with his bright colored, warm weather wear. The fact that he carried a water colored sword in the oddest shape didn't help to steer away any attention from him as he slowly and cautiously made his way through the streets.

All eyes were on him and he could feel every single one fixed on his being. It made him uneasy as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He was on full alert mode, ready for anything to happen. The Brotherhood was sheathed but his hand was ready for that moment where something might possibly go wrong.

The thing was, for the past few hours, nothing had gone wrong. He only felt more and more out of place as he discovered his surroundings. After some time, he had made his way to a more secluded part of the city, in hopes of avoiding unnecessary attention. He had grown somewhat tolerable to all the gawking, staring and pointing but it was still getting on his nerves.

Having long put the public into the back of his mind, Tidus surveyed his surroundings. This city was vast and very fascinating to him. Very different from anything he had seen in Spira or Zanarkland. Skyscrapers loomed far overhead all around, blocking off sunlight in many areas, allowing only certain rays of light to come down. These tall luminous objects were all dull, either colored grey, black, brown or some other boring shade. Nothing was vibrant; they all lacked life in his opinion and seemed uninviting and cold. The city was lit but it was dim and the fact that today consisted of entirely grey skies didn't help the large metropolis any further.

The city was littered with people, all making their way around, to their own destinations. There were streetlights located everywhere and transportation vehicles which all looked alien to him. The vehicles were on four wheels as they rolled across the ground at relatively quick speeds. It was all new, yet fascinating.

He still had absolutely no idea how he had come to be here. He recalled back to a time when a similar occasion had occurred. He had been taken away from his home of Zanarkland unexpectedly to find himself alone in the new world of Spira. It seemed as if fate were up to its cruel tricks once again, taking him away from those he had grown comfortable with, particularly Yuna, and leaving him stranded all alone once more.

Tidus wondered if it was possible that Sin was behind this. As much as he wanted to flirt with the idea of Sin returning and being the cause of this, he couldn't come to make himself believe it. Something else was behind this and he needed to find out what because that was most likely his answer to getting back home.

The young warrior crossed the street along with the few people in this quieter section of the city. He needed to get information or better yet, find a map.

"Excuse me sir." An authoritative voice boomed behind him, once he crossed the street. He turned around to face a man in a uniform navy blue in color.

Tidus studied the tall man. He was thin but well built and sported a beard and mustache. Next to him, stood another, dressed similarly. He was shorter but more lean, bald on top and lacking any facial hair aside from a mustache. "Yes?" He finally spoke up.

The taller officer stood his ground. "We received a few reports from people citing that they saw someone suspicious clad in an odd looking uniform, carrying a weapon." He cleared his throat before continuing. "We followed the trail and it turned out to be you."

Silence ensued briefly as Tidus stared at the officer incredulously. "Who are you?" he asked.

Both officers raised their eyebrows in question. Again, the taller one spoke. "I am an officer of the law here at Deling City. Are you from out of town?" All the time, his eyes were trained on the blue crystal sword sheathed to the young blond haired man.

Tidus decided to play along for he didn't wish to arouse more suspicion than necessary at the moment. "Yeah, I'm out of town." He paused, thinking of more to add before continuing, "Actually, I'm not from here at all."

"Oh?" The tall officer asked. "Are you from out east then?"

'That must mean we're in the west?' Tidus thought. "Yeah, I'm from the east."

"Esthar?" The shorter officer chimed in.

"Hmm?" Tidus hadn't understood what the man had said.

"Are you from Esthar then?" the bald headed officer repeated.

"Yeah, I'm from the east, from Esthar," Tidus played along. His eyes began to dart around. He contemplated running but figured that maybe they would be ones capable of helping him. His hand had now eased away from the sheath, in order to not draw any unwanted reactions from the officers.

The taller officer spoke up again, this time, more sternly. "Sir that weapon of yours..."

"The sword?" Tidus cut in.

"Yes sir, I'm afraid to tell you that we do not allow anyone aside from authorized military and law enforcing personnel to carry weapons in public. It's a potential hazard to our citizens and we are just recovering from some very critical times so I ask that you cooperate and hand the weapon over otherwise you will be arrested and detained."

Tidus looked at the taller officer in shock. Was he serious? Of course he was, his face held a stern expression, completely shy of any humor indicating that he may have been kidding. Out of the corner of his eye, Tidus could see the shorter officer reach for his side, for his weapon.

"Whoa! That won't be necessary." Tidus brought his right palm up towards the shorter man, signaling him to stop. "I don't mean any harm."

The bald man seemed to ease up a little, but his hand continued to remain at his side, as a precautionary. "Then you won't mind handing that weapon over will you? Unless you're military of course, or Seed."

At this time, several spectators had stopped to witness the scene, watching with interest. Tidus glanced at all of them before diverting his attention back to the officers.

The taller officer decided to speak again. "Are you military or Seed?" He needed the confirmation, in order to avoid any potential firing over having hassled someone of higher authority.

Tidus thought for a moment and considered lying and going along with it but wisely opted not to at the last second, realizing that the officers would most likely ask for verification. If they found it he had lied, it would only spell disaster. He decided to simply be truthful in this case. "I'm not military or Seed."

The taller officer nodded before taking a step forward. "Then we're going to have to confiscate the weapon."

Tidus shook his head. "No, I'm not going to give you my sword." Both officers immediately reached for their guns but Tidus frantically raised both his arms up. "No, no! Wait! I'll come with you if I have to but I'm not going to give away my sword."

The tall officer spoke up immediately. "Sir, this is not standard protocol and I'm afraid we cannot allow that."

Tidus put on a slightly pleading face. "Just let me come with you, you can take the sword from me right now and put it in the back or whatever. I could speak to someone there about this can't I?"

The two officers turned and stared at each other hesitantly as if exchanging information mentally before looking back at him.

"Alright," the taller man spoke, "You'll come with us and can talk to the chief about this. We'll ride in the police car."

Tidus nodded and walked over to the men, who stepped to the side cautiously, far enough away to be able to react should he unexpectedly turn on them.

As he took a few more steps, passing them, he was stopped by the short officer's voice. "We're going to have to ask you to drop your weapon now." His voice was raised and it was threatening.

The crowd had gotten larger, people across the street having stopped to watch as well.

Showing that he intended no hostility, Tidus, with his back to them, raised his right arm in the air as if in surrender while he unclasped his buckle that held his sheath with his left hand. When the sword fell to the ground, he was told to step several feet away while one of the officer's picked it up. Tidus did as he was told, with the short officer holding his gun out towards him, guiding him away from the sword as the taller one approached the sword carefully. His eyes never left Tidus, who still had his back turned to him, until he was right in front of the crystal blue sword.

The taller officer examined the sword visually for a moment before grasping the handle with one arm and lifting it up. He was quite stunned and surprised at its weight. In fact, the officer had so much trouble that he was forced to use both arms in order to comfortably carry the blade to the car.

"Damn kid! What's this thing made of?" The officer exclaimed, his eyes wide in astonishment.

Tidus smirked and finally turned around, his hands still over his head as the shorter officer still held him at bay with his drawn weapon. "Nothing you've ever heard of I bet." He retorted.

The taller man was not amused as he frowned at Tidus while making his way over to the police vehicle parked at the side of the road. After the weapon was securely stashed in the back and the trunk was shut, he turned around and ordered for his partner to put away his weapon. The shorter man acknowledged and put his gun back into its holster, allowing Tidus to bring down his arms.

"Come on," the tall officer said, nodding towards the car, "get in." He then turned towards the crowd. "Move along people," he ordered with authority, "Nothing to see here. Move along please."

With that, the crowd slowly dispersed, faces of disappointment seen on many, obviously having expected some kind of ordeal to have taken place.

Tidus surveyed the car. It was one of the many alien looking transportation vehicles he had come across in this new world. This one, like all others, had four wheels and what appeared to be blue and red colored cylinders planted on top of it. The vehicle was mostly white, with blue and grey trim. It was relatively high and looked quite durable. Slowly, the young warrior made his way over to the vehicle and stopped shortly at its side. He paused, staring at the inside, which contained seating, a cage separating the front from the back.

The shorter officer, who had been momentarily occupied with his partner, paused his conversation as he stared at Tidus, who continued staring himself, at the inside of the car. "Well?" He questioned. "Are you going to get into the car, or are we going to have to force you?"

Tidus was brought back to reality as he nodded and grabbed at the handle of the rear door. He pulled on it and the door came open. Still finding this all fascinating, Tidus slowly seated himself inside and shut the door.

The taller officer came up to the front door and opened it, momentarily poking his head in. "Listen, we're going to be leaving to the station in a few minutes so just sit tight."

And with that, the door was shut, leaving Tidus in the quiet confines of the car. Here, in comparison to the outside, was an entirely different story. Shielded from all the city noise, it offered the young blonde haired man a temporary sanctuary and some time alone with his own thoughts. This was all still a chaotic whirlwind to him. Everything: from when he had woken up until now, he was still confused and lost in a daze. Perhaps now, he would be able to seek some help at the station, which they would be heading to shortly.

Resting his head on the seat, Tidus closed his eyes halfway, somewhat weary from all the day's happenings as he comfortably watched the two officers outside his car engage in what seemed to be a regular conversation for them.

* * *

Derek had only been walking around this new city for approximately a half hour but already, he had been comparing it to a city back home. A city well known across the entire planet. A city once synonymous with evil and corruption. The city of Midgar. Now in its rebuilding phase, Midgar had come quite a long way since meteor and was now only slowly coming back to form after the disastrous events which had unfolded a few years prior.

This city, called "Deling" as a stranger Derek had asked told him, was the capital of Galbadia, a large country located on the western continent. Derek had lied of course, had said that he hailed from a small town in the east and therefore was uneducated when it came to geography. What could he say? That he was an inter-dimensional traveler? That seemed more plausible didn't it?

Upon entering the city, Derek had received a few odd stares from the locals, considering that his dark dress attire seemed somewhat although not too much out of place here. His dark black pants and black shirt did much to stand out, attracting the attention of a few passers.

At one point, the SOLDIER had been approached by a young and energetic boy, who seemed excited to meet him.

"_Are you a Seed?" The boy had asked excitedly with wide eyes._

"_Come again kid?" Derek had replied in a deep gruff voice, causing the child's eyes to widen more._

_The startled child, now slightly shaky around the presence of the dark warrior, replied weakly, "Are- Are you Seed Mister? I thought you were Seed."_

"_I'm not Seed." Came the simple reply. It had a strong sense of finality in it, inciting the child to back away slowly and retreat in fear._

Derek had watched the kid run off with mild amusement. Had he been that intimidating he wondered? If so, it hadn't been his intention but that must have been difficult to avoid considering he had towered over the young boy while talking to him. His 'no-nonsense' facial expression hadn't helped ease the child's nervousness either.

The orange haired man crossed a street following a green light, trudging along slowly with the crowd on a grey afternoon.

Derek continued to walk on the left sidewalk of the street. The sidewalks were long, allowing many people to pass, shops all lined up along the way with consumers inside many, talking to vendors and retailers. Cars were parked in length on the right side of the street as oncoming traffic passed by. The traffic itself was fairly heavy but this certain section of the city seemed slightly less crowded than other areas he had passed through. He appreciated the atmosphere here more, for it allowed him to have some serenity and peace.

The original haired individual truthfully had no idea what his intentions were or where he was truly heading but for the time being, he decided to simply go on a stroll, to relax and calm himself following the previous events that had transpired only hours earlier.

Hours earlier, when he had been attacked by two mysterious silver haired individuals. He still couldn't understand their intentions for being hostile but their strong resemblance to a SOLDIER of the past continued to send chills down his spine. The bullet wounds from earlier had been removed just before entering the city. It had taken some effort and struggle, but he had willed himself to pull them out using a six inch military knife he always carried on him.

He had then contemplated seeking medical help in patching himself up but opted not to, simply finding a public restroom in which he consumed a large majority of paper towels in order to wrap up his wounds. The mako would do the rest… as always.

Derek was already feeling far better in the span of about an hour. Mako had always been controversial, often conflicting with human health and well-being but in the meantime, it seemed as if once accustomed to it, it was near impossible to live without it inhabiting your body.

As he crossed yet another street, the crowds became even thinner but it was still relatively busy in this area. Stores continued to exist throughout the neighborhood as people made their way along. He caught sight of a police vehicle. It was not a standard sedan but a modified sport utility police cruiser with heightened suspension, bulletproof glass and a durable looking frame. The car was high and wide with rugged looking tires and two large sirens on the top. Outside the car, a few feet away, were two police offers that seemed to be relaxing at the moment, having a discussion.

As Derek approached the car, which was parked on the side of the street to his right, facing opposite of him, he noticed a young individual seated in the back appearing bored. The blonde haired teenager was no more than that, a teenager and yet here he was seated in a police vehicle for a typical crime a teenager would commit Derek assumed. He shook his head in disappointment as he slowly passed the car, watching the young man as he passed by.

* * *

Tidus opened his half shut eyes completely after having felt someone's gaze on him. He turned to his right, towards the sidewalk, looking past the two officers who were still busy talking, and at a darkly dressed man with bright orange hair that clearly stood out amongst the dull looking crowd. He saw the man look at him for a moment and shake his head in dismay.

Tidus frowned, understanding what the other was most likely thinking. He raised his right hand, saluting the orange haired man by extending his middle finger as a sign of courtesy and to keep walking and mind his own business.

* * *

Derek saw the blonde haired teenager in the car raise his middle finger at him. He raised an eyebrow in amusement, as he continued to pass by, never once breaking eye contact with him until he was several meters away from him, approaching another intersection.

Tidus had turned around in his seat and continued to stare at the orange haired man through the rear window, vowing never to break eye contact with him. If anyone pulled away first, it would be that nosy bastard he thought. He continued to intently watch the man outside walk past him and down the sidewalk. He frowned after the orange haired individual was now a ways up ahead and finally broke his gaze as he returned to look up ahead of him.

"Yeah that's right bitch," Tidus muttered, still staring after the man, "You just keep walking and don't turn around and look back." He was satisfied with himself that he had won this staring contest, smiling inwardly at the fact that he had intimidated the older looking individual.

Tidus continued to eye the man as he approached the intersection. His gaze was still fixed on him until another individual with shiny silver looking hair approached the unaware man from his left. That was when he spotted the other two similarly dressed silver haired men as well, one straight across the street, standing stationary, and another across the street to the right, seated on a parked transportation vehicle Tidus had never seen anything the likes of during his entire existence.

He had a sinking feeling in his stomach as the silver haired man continued to slowly close the distance to the taller man waiting to cross the street.

* * *

By now, Derek had approached the intersection and along with the few people standing with him, waited for the light to turn green in order to cross.

His eyes continued to be fixed on the traffic light, impatiently waiting for that moment when the hypnotic bright red color would change to that of the welcoming green. It was just then, at the moment, that the air turned cold and the temperature seemed to drop a few notches.

He looked up to notice the still cloudy sky and then quickly brought his head down, staring ahead briefly with a look of uncertainty etched across his face.

It was then that Derek slowly arched his head to the left, to see a young looking silver haired individual approaching him slowly. He resembled the long haired man with the gun earlier but this one had far shorter hair and appeared far younger. He was smaller in physical stature as well but walked with a air of supreme confidence as he quietly strode along the sidewalk, making his way over to the shocked orange haired man.

"What the fuck…" Derek muttered under his breath ever so quietly, that it would have been undetectable even by anyone next to him. He shifted a step to his right. Several people nearby looked at him in peculiarity but he simply ignored them as his gaze continued to rest on the approaching silver haired youth.

With a frown on his face, Derek reached for his weapon and peered across the street, surveying his surroundings. He didn't know how many of them there were but a great feeling of uneasiness spread throughout his body.

The young silver haired individual stopped several meters short of Derek, standing out apart from the dull looking crowd, who had now begun crossing the street. Many appeared as if they simple wanted to run away, anticipating trouble. One glance at the weapons each individual was carrying and the citizens became fully aware that this was not likely a 'civil' meeting.

Derek had his hand on the gun and was ready to draw it. The silver haired warrior smirked and raised his hand, signaling for Derek to pause.

"Don't you wanna hear what I have to say before you shoot and cause trouble?" His voice was icy and low, yet deep at the same time, as if a loud coarse whisper.

Derek wasn't the least bit amused, his face stone cold and dead serious. "It better not be something that makes my gun want to exercise."

Kadaj's eyes narrowed as he stepped closer. The crowd had quickly parted and only a handful of people would pass close to the two. For the most part, not much separated them now. "You're Derek right?" It was both a question and a statement at the same time.

"Who wants to know?"

"I'm Kadaj. I have a proposition for you."

Derek shifted his weight again. His senses were at an all time high. Doing a quick sweep with his eyes, he looked around once more for any apparent signs of danger. Only half paying attention to Kadaj while still staying on full alert, Derek answered, "What the fuck is it?"

Kadaj walked a bit closer. Derek took one step back and put his finger on the trigger of his gun, still resting in its holster.

Kadaj picked up on it and stopped. His smirk grew, his eyes meeting Derek's once more. "I have to apologize for the actions of my brothers earlier. Looks like they put you on edge huh?" His face took on a look of mild amusement.

If possible, Derek's expression turned more serious as his gaze pierced into the younger man's. "Your brothers?" So they were indeed related.

"Yeah, are you really that surprised?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Derek spat.

Kadaj plastered a look of fake confusion. "For what? He asked, feigning ignorance.

It was Derek's turn to smile, bitterly however. "You guys attack me and try to kill me and then you come up and try to play it as if nothing happened?"

Kadaj frowned. "Let's get one thing straight. They were the ones who attacked you and that was because they didn't know what was going on. But we cleared things up now. You're not the enemy."

Derek looked at him incredulously. "Not the enemy…" He echoed. "This is some kind of perverse joke that you guys get a kick out of right?"

This time Kadaj was truly confused. "We don't. Play. Jokes. Ever." The words stung Derek as he understood just how serious Kadaj was indeed.

Derek peered over to the police car. The cops didn't even appear to have the slightest clue what was going on outside their conversation. The blonde haired teenager was watching with interest from inside the car. It was then that Derek noticed how similar in age he and Kadaj were. Returning his attention to the man before him. He spoke in bitter fashion. "What is it that you want kid?"

Kid? Kadaj was both amused and surprised at being called that but he let it pass. "We got here just like you. Not knowing how. You know what I'm talking about of course."

Derek ignored for the most part what was said and asked what had been on his mind from the start. "How many of you are there?"

Kadaj cocked his head to the side as he slightly turned to the side and pointed straight ahead, in which Derek's gaze followed, landing upon the massive silver haired man known as Loz. "That's Loz." Kadaj stated nonchalantly, then turning slightly to his right and pointing behind Derek. "And that's Yazoo."

Derek had gone partially numb and his body felt ice cold after his gaze had landed upon Loz. Not bothering to acknowledge him when spotted, the large silver haired individual simply continued to gaze intently at Derek from across the street. He was on top of his bike, which was parked next to the curb. It definitely stood out amongst the rest of the vehicles with its complex looking design and metallic colors.

People at this point, were beginning to take slight interest in the peculiar looking men and watched from a distance as they strolled through the streets.

Upon hearing Kadaj mention Yazoo's name, Derek didn't even have to have completely seen what was behind him to predict who was there. Sure enough, upon spotting him, Derek gazed into the eyes of the man across the street that had repeatedly fired at him earlier. Like Loz, Yazoo was also resting on top of his parked bike. Unlike Loz however, Yazoo's gaze wasn't just intent, but it took the form of a predator having their eyes set on a prey. It was the disturbing look of hunger, the hunger Yazoo sought in killing Derek.

Derek, in a very uncomfortable fashion, turned back to face Kadaj. "So that makes three." He voiced, stating the obvious. His face betrayed his emotions as it still took on a stoic expression.

"Yes," Kadaj confirmed. "Three, including me."

As Kadaj was partially turned away from Derek, it was only then that the orange haired warrior spotted the sheath housing the sword that slung over his lower back. It was a katana, and the sheath was simple yet elegant. Derek was firmly gripping the gun now; his finger was pressed so close against the trigger that any non trained individual would have fired by accident.

Derek turned so that he had both Kadaj and Yazoo to his side, and Loz straight ahead of him. They had boxed him in, in a triangular formation. Very clever, though not unexpected. He was disappointed with himself, in not sensing their presence earlier. He had been too occupied being fascinated by the new city.

"You're a SOLDIER?" Again, it was more of a statement than a question from Kadaj.

Derek remained silent for a moment, frequently eyeing Loz and Yazoo, who hadn't moved an inch. "What do you want Kadaj?" His patience was already thin and it was being pushed to its borders.

"Well if you're a SOLDIER, then you have Jenova cells inside too."

This time, Derek's full attention turned to Kadaj. "Too?"

Kadaj smiled quietly and nodded once. "Can't you feel it? We are brothers as much as they are my brothers." He said, motioning to the other two.

"You're a sick fuck." Derek's face had twisted into one of complete contempt. "We're not brothers. We have nothing to do with each other."

"Oh that's where you're wrong Derek." He had come closer and was walking a semi circle around him. "We're all part of mother. You can feel her too? I know it."

* * *

Tidus, among many of the spectators, watched in fascination. He was amazed how the two police officers continued to be oblivious to what was occurring just several meters down the street. The four men all seemed out of place and were garnering much attention now, especially after witnessing the tension between the orange haired and silver haired individual on the sidewalk.

He anticipated a fight breaking out. Waiting for disaster to strike. He had no idea just how much of a disaster it would be.

* * *

Kadaj had a look of slight insanity plastered across his face; his eyes were wide with anticipation as he spoke. "Derek, why do this? Why fight? Let's work together as brothers and succeed."

"Succeed with what?" Derek snarled. He didn't picture liking the answer to the question.

Kadaj's eyes seemed to sparkle as he spoke with excitement. "We can bring big brother back." He said this quietly as if not wishing to disturb anything.

Derek's own eyes turned wide at this. "Big brother?" Chills went up and down his spine. He had an idea of what he was talking about but didn't want to believe it.

"Yeah. Big brother of course." As if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We'll bring Sephiroth back!"

That was all it took to spark Derek. The mere mention of the lunatic's name. The man he despised more than anything in the world. Derek pulled out his gun in a flash yet time seemed to slow down, especially for Tidus and the spectators. From across the street, Yazoo immediately brought out the Velvet Nightmare and Loz jumped off his bike, evading the few cars as he ran across the street.

Although Derek had been fast, Kadaj had been equal to his speed, anticipating the attack. Derek fired off a shot which Kadaj just barely dodged. The ejection of the bullet shattered whatever peace and tranquility there had been throughout the streets as the sound of it echoed everywhere. People sprang to life and began running in all directions away from the men.

The two officers now had their attention set on the scene ahead.

"What the hell!" The taller one shouted, his voice filled with surprise and slight fear.

The shorter one got out his radio, frantically shouting in it, "We need backup! Shots fired in eastern sector of Deling along Wilkinson Ave."

With that, the two officers both raced to the other side of the car, and began pulling out their own guns, running towards the scene.

From across the street, Yazoo, who had his weapon drawn and was about to fire at Derek picked up on the two officers. He stepped off his bike quickly and fired exactly two shots in half a second, each one connecting solidly with one officer, rendering them lifeless as the collapsed like dolls to the ground.

Derek had fired off three shots in total in Kadaj's direction. The younger warrior, who had his katana drawn just earlier, had successfully dodged two but saw the third deflect off his blade, causing it fly out of his hand behind him. He shouted out in anger. The sounds of other shots being fired immediately drew Derek's attention away from the weaponless Kadaj as he did a quick sweep and found the two officers from before lying dead in a pool of their own blood.

Quickly turning ninety degrees to his right, and catching a quick glimpse of an approaching Loz along the way, Derek fired off in Yazoo's direction.

The silver haired gunman strafed to the side and quickly twirled to avoid any shots as he emptied several shells of his own at Derek. Although Derek barely dodged them, Yazoo was nonetheless amazed. The orange haired man moved with fascinating speed, as if in a blur. Then again it didn't surprise Yazoo entirely since he was a SOLDIER after all.

All hell had broken loose as the sounds of multiple shots being fired traveled throughout the square.

Tidus, who was momentarily caught in a trance watching the chaos, snapped out of his reverie and climbed out of the car. He paused momentarily, watching the four men in action, unsure what he could or should do.

Loz was fast approaching Derek but an upcoming car caused him to halt. The car stopped several feet ahead of him, screeching to a halt. The bald man inside stared at him in horror. Loz, angry at having almost been hit, ran to the door and pried it off its hinges, chucking it to the side. He grabbed the man inside, still with his seatbelt on and yanked him out, tearing it in the process.

The man's feet were dangling in the air and Loz picked up on the faint smell of urine from the shaking individual who he held by the throat.

Derek, still busy with Yazoo's incoming fire, now had to deal with an angry Kadaj who had retrieved his katana. Derek knew Yazoo, unless completely crazy would cease fire since Kadaj was within close proximity. Sure enough, the gunman stopped at the sight of his younger brother beginning to attack Derek.

Yazoo, calmly and patiently reloaded his weapon, forgetting that he was in battle at the moment.

Derek just barely evaded a swing from the dual katana. He had no melee weapon of his own and did a semi cartwheel to the side to gain some distance from Kadaj as he contemplated his options. He peered to the middle of the street where Loz had just finished violently snapping the neck of some poor individual and tossing his lifelessly body tens of feet across into another car.

"Fuck…" He whispered under his breath. This was bad and he knew it. Not only was he outnumbered, but they were elite fighters as well and the one with the brute strength was a force to be reckoned with.

"Derek!" Kadaj screamed at the top of his lungs. "Why Derek, why! Why do you have to make this so hard!" He rushed open the orange haired SOLDIER once more ready to strike.

Tidus had seen enough and as much as he opted to turn away, he just couldn't. His battle instincts kicking in, He grabbed the Brotherhood from the back of the car and dashed forward, towards the core of battle.

Kadaj swung again and again, both times Derek blocking it with the side of his firearm. This was ridiculous and he knew it, there was no way he was going to last long. Loz approached Derek with blistering speed from the side and he only saw it at the last second, giving him enough time to evade a lethal punch from the large man. Performing a quick backwards somersault, Derek landed yet again, several feet away from both Kadaj and Loz, who now stood side by side.

"Loz, to the side." Kadaj instructed, beckoning with his head.

Loz circled to the right of Derek. He smirked. "Isn't this fun?"

Yazoo was the first to spot a young, blonde haired individual dashing towards his older brother. He finished reloading his weapon and took aim, firing at Tidus.

Tidus, who made it past the shots fired at him, lunged at Loz at the last second. Loz became aware the instant the blade from Tidus' sword was coming at him. Raising his Dual Hound, Loz blocked the blade as it made a heavy clang with his own mechanical device. He acknowledged Tidus' shocked expression, smirking at the same time.

Tidus pulled back and took another swipe at Loz who easily dodged the younger man's attempts at cutting him to pieces. Yazoo had to once again hold fire as the four men ahead of him were bunched up too close together and were moving too quickly for him to be able to place an accurate shot. He growled in anger.

Derek fired at Kadaj, seeing Loz momentarily occupied with the kid who had given him the finger earlier. Kadaj dodged the bullet and had moved so fast in doing so, he'd become nothing but a blur. Derek knew this would be over shortly if he didn't pull out.

Tidus was now fighting for his life and Loz unleashed an onslaught using his fists. Tidus blocked each punch successfully but the force from each was the equivalent of a large steel rod raining down on his sword with explosive speed. His arms began to hurt and he didn't know if he could hold up. 'This was a fucking mistake. I should've booked it.' He gave a quick pleading look towards Derek who was now unusually calm while fending off Kadaj. Loz threw another punch at Tidus. Despite blocking it again, this one stung unlike the others and his hands began to get numb from the vibrations of his hilt. He grit his teeth and focused further, continuing to stay on the defensive as Loz slowly pushed him away from Kadaj and Derek.

Kadaj's backhand swing had missed Derek, who had ducked. He took the opportunity to place a punch with his pistol to the midsection of the young warrior. Kadaj let out a small grunt of pain as he bent over in reaction to the shot. Derek then slammed his knee upwards with great force towards Kadaj's face, sending him tumbling backwards and to the ground. As he expected, shots rang out immediately towards him.

Yazoo unleashed shot after shot at Derek, who stood alone.

The two danced with death as they continued evading shots. Kadaj got up and the rage in his eyes would have paralyzed others with fear. He let out a cry of anger that drowned out the shots. Yazoo turned his attention to his younger brother for a split instant. Derek, as he had done before while on top of the car, concentrated and focused at a single point. He let out a shot that connected with the right hand of Yazoo, sending the man backwards in surprise and dropping his weapon as well.

Turning quickly to face the angry Kadaj, Derek wasted no time, firing several shots at him, knowing that he would evade them however.

Sure enough, Kadaj jumped over the shots and somersaulted backwards, putting more space between the two.

Derek immediately tapped twice with two fingers towards the back of his left forearm. A pulsating presence began emitting throughout his entire arm and then across his body.

Yazoo got up slowly, checking his wounded arm. The damage was minimal he assessed, glancing over towards Derek, who now housed a faint blue glow around his left arm. 'Materia. Shit.'

"Materia!" Kadaj shouted out, immediately recognizing it. He pulled back even further, now going on full defensive. "Loz, Materia!" He shouted again.

Loz stopped momentarily, allowing an exhausted Tidus to catch his breath and back away. The large silver haired man turned towards Derek. "Yazoo, take him out!"

Yazoo ran towards his gun as Loz ran towards Derek, who was now shaking violently and had a glowing blue left arm. As quick as the large man was, he wasn't quick enough in this case as the numb feeling coming from the cold rushed throughout Derek's body, completely taking over. At the last second, just before losing consciousness, Derek unleashed a powerful arctic blast at Kadaj.

Kadaj, who had assumed the attack was meant for Loz, didn't anticipate it completely to dodge in time, bracing only the last second in order to not be hit full on. With his sword and his side to the blast, and his head tucked in, Kadaj felt the searing numbness of the cold hit his body as a giant stream of ice similar to water exploding from a hydrant sent him flying up into the air.

The entire crowd, or what was left of them, had momentarily stopped their frantic running and gazed in amazement as the young silver haired man was picked up off the ground and sent straight through a third story window across an adjacent high rise building.

Just as the crowd had been completely caught in wonder at the sight they had witnessed, so too, was Tidus. His mouth hung open in shock as he stared at the large hole in the side of the building Kadaj had crashed through.

Sometime while heading towards Derek, Loz had stopped and witnessed his younger brother become engulfed in a thick stream of ice that had sent him hurling into the air, across the entire street and through the side of a high rise building. He immediately continued to charge towards Derek once more, who now turned and began running in the opposite direction.

"Run, kid, run!" Derek shouted as he stopped turned and fired at the pursuing Loz.

Yazoo picked up his gun with his left hand and paused. He could hear them. The sirens of police vehicles approaching, no doubt having heard what was transpiring here.

The others heard it too and Derek was quick to react, unleashing another shot at Loz, who blocked it this time, with his Dual Hound. Derek's clip was empty and he needed to reload. "Kid, fucking run!"

Tidus finally decided to listen, but instead of running away from the scene, he charged after Loz and Derek.

Between the police sirens, Yazoo taking aim, and Loz stopping to turn around and face the adrenaline driven Tidus, everything slowed down for Derek as he glanced all across. His eyes came to rest upon the police cruiser Tidus had been in earlier. He turned back to Loz who was now still and waiting for the fast approaching Tidus.

From across the street, Yazoo paused aim and ran to cross, making his way closer to the three. He only had one thing on his mind now: to kill Derek. He'd had enough of the orange haired menace and was intent on ending his life.

As Tidus approached Loz, he jumped in the air with his sword pointed towards the silver haired man. Loz waited until Tidus was within range and swung his hand with great speed, swatting Tidus and his sword to his left. Tidus crashed into the ground, cutting up his hands and legs, coughing out blood from the blow.

He continued to cough violently, clutching the arm he'd fallen on. "Holy shit!" He gasped, coughing out blood at the same time. His eyes were wide with shock and pain.

"Loz!" It was Yazoo.

The large man didn't have enough time to react as he felt a powerful blow from behind send him sprawling forward slightly. Derek had kicked him with great force, taking him off guard momentarily. "Kid, get up and get to the car, now!"

Tidus shook off the pain and the blood and this time he truly listened, running to the car, one hand clutching the Brotherhood tightly and the other clutching his injured left shoulder.

Yazoo, spotting Tidus running, thought of shooting him but opted not to, instead taking aim at Derek. This time, of the three shots he fired, two connected, one in the upper right thigh, and the other in the left lower abdomen.

"Die, you fuck, die!" Yazoo spat out in contempt to no one in particular as he moved forward and continued to fire at Derek. His own right hand was leaving a trail of blood behind as he marched forward.

Loz, who was now down on one knee, watched as his brother unleashed shot after shot at Derek, who began to receive several at a time while desperately running towards the car. Yazoo had him now, it was only a matter of time before his enemy would collapse and Yazoo would then slowly approaching him, ending his sorry excuse for a life. At that moment, Yazoo's clip ran out, causing him to stop and stare at it in amazement and disbelief. He glanced over at Loz, who returned his gaze with a look of amusement. Amusement at having his brother been so focused in the moment and then suddenly pulled away from it.

Derek's body was writhing in pain. He wasn't sure how many bullet wounds there were but judging by the great surges of pain coming from throughout his body, he assumed it was many. Enough to kill any normal individual but not enough to take down a SOLDIER just yet. Memories of the past resurfaced in his head as he made his way to the car, running from side to side towards it.

The car up ahead was becoming blurry and he was slowly becoming disoriented. He needed to focus. He knew the mako would take care of the wounds but that required some time and he needed to get to the car. The memories of the past threatened to spill to the surface as he desperately dashed to the car, of which Tidus was now inside, trying to work.

Images began to haunt his mind and blend in with what he was currently seeing, creating deceiving pictures. "No. Not now!" He cried through clenched teeth. The pain was unbelievable and any normal person would have simply given in to the pain, letting it consume their body and taking them to place of no light.

From several meters behind, Yazoo was finishing reloading his clip, although it was taking him far longer than he liked due to his injury. He quickly turned to Loz, who had stood up and was gazing towards the direction of the police sirens.

"Why aren't you going after him!" Yazoo had lost his composure, letting his hatred for Derek consume him.

Loz did not match his unstable mood, as he took a calm attitude. "I knew you wanted him. I wasn't going to interrupt."

"You should have gone after him!" Yazoo stated again. He checked up ahead as Derek's figure approached the car. He was almost done reloading but with one injured hand, it was proving somewhat difficult.

Loz turned his gaze from the sounds of the sirens and stared at his younger brother. Still calm and completely collected, he spoke without emotion. "If I'd just chased him, you would've said I'd gotten in the way. But because you still haven't taken him down yet, you're putting the blame on me." He then eyed his brother up and down and took notice of his injured right hand. "This isn't like you, losing control. What would big brother think?"

Yazoo chose to ignore that last comment. Having finished reloading, he took aim at Derek once more and unleashed several shots.

The shots reached the car and missed Derek, who now jumped into the car from the passengers side, painting the inside seat of the car crimson.

"Shit what the fuck!" Tidus cried out. "You too!"

"Shut up and drive!"

"I'm trying to get it to work but I can't figure out how."

Derek gave Tidus a quick death glare before turning the key in the ignition, bringing the car to life. Tidus stared at the key for a moment in wonder before being yelled at once more.

"Goooo!"

Tidus slammed his foot down on one of the pedals and the car shot forward smashing into the parked car up ahead, sending the two forward into their seats. An brief awkward silence followed as Derek stared at Tidus in shock and the younger man did the same.

Shots causing the glass to shatter snapped the two out of their trance. "Fucking drive kid! Do you know how to drive?" Derek shouted, making Tidus slightly wince. Derek took his left arm and put the car in reverse, he then jerked the steering wheel around to turn the tires. "Hit the gas, but this time not so hard."

Tidus complied and the car shot back and slammed into the curb. Derek shook his head but he had cleared enough space for them to get out. He put the car back into drive.

Tidus this time tapped the gas and the car moved forward slightly. He grabbed the steering wheel and turned it, bringing the car out into the road.

Yazoo ceased firing at the sight of the car disappearing. The anger inside him was causing him to boil. Despite this, he opted to appear calm on the outside. "They're leaving." He said as calmly as possible.

Loz gave him a quick glance. "The authorities are here. As much as I'd like to stay and play with them, we don't have time." He spoke nonchalantly. He then looked up towards the third story window Kadaj had crashed through.

Yazoo followed his gaze. "Brother will be fine. Let's go, they're getting away."

With that, the two raced to their bikes just as the police cars approached. The two bikes roared to life as the two silver haired men sped away in the direction of the disappearing police cruiser with incredible speed, leaving the city square, along with its citizens, all in a daze and in frenzy.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Yeah, it's been a long time since I updated I know but I, like many others have my reasons. School is more than a full time job as are other activities. Besides, it doesn't seem as if this story has many readers so it doesn't make me in any sort of a rush to get the next chapter going. Maybe if more people show interest, this thing will pick up faster but for now, for those few readers who are actually looking forward to this story, I'm sorry for the wait and I really will get the next chapter up much more quickly. Again, any contstructive criticism is appreciated. Let me know what you think.**


	5. Shattering the Silence

**Shattering the Silence **

**

* * *

**

Squall sat down in Cid's office after being called in.

The older man sat behind his desk, his eyes scanning some paperwork as he spoke. "How are you today Squall?"

"Fine sir." Squall spoke in a flat tone, his arms crossed against his chest.

Following the defeat of Ultemicia, Cid had been one of the many people who had been tremendously relieved to have that entire ordeal put to rest, perhaps more so than others however. He had always maintained a positive and hopeful attitude throughout the entire conflict yet his actions later had caused Squall to truly question the man who ran Garden.

Although he would never admit it, Squall had lost a great deal of respect for Cid after the older man pinned the entire crisis on his shoulders. Cid had simply ran away to isolate himself from all the trouble as he thrust Squall into the heart of battle by promoting him to commander.

On the outside, Squall never showed any signs that he garnered less respect for the man but on the inside, it was a truly different story. As much as he wanted to, he simply could not look up to the man as he once used to. All he saw now was Cid for who he really was: just some old coward who couldn't handle the heat.

Cid finally looked up. He squinted behind his glasses as he studied Squall for a moment. "Are you wondering why you're here?" He took off his glasses to wipe them with a cloth.

"A little, what is this exactly about sir?" From Squall's tone, he sounded extremely disinterested in what was going on. He was impatient and wanted Cid to get to the point.

"You can relax Squall." Cid leaned back in his chair as he put his glasses on once more. "I'm just simply trying to brief you on our current status."

Squall partially raised an eyebrow, his face still in a slight frown. "And?"

"Everything's been calm. In fact, we haven't even had any minor crimes to speak of in any portion of the world let alone something big enough to get our attention."

Squall was becoming more impatient by the minute. 'Whatever, what the hell does this have to do with anything?'

"Sir, what are you getting at?"

"Well that's why I called you here Squall. What's your take on all of this?" Cid studied Squall carefully once more, awaiting an answer.

'What does he want me to say?' Squall leaned forward a little. "My take sir?"

Cid leaned forward too at this moment, crossing his arms over the desk. "Well now, it's been a few months after all that's happened and it's been relatively peaceful. Not that I'm complaining mind you."

Squall merely nodded, urging the headmaster to carry on.

After receiving the nod, Cid continued, "You know however, that we're built and dependant on contracts seeking aid and relief from crisis or other major conflicts."

"Yes sir." Squall said almost mechanically.

Cid paused and let out a heavy breath. He stared past Squall for a moment as if contemplating whether or not to continue before he spoke up again. "We've been getting offers from governments all around the world. Esthar, Galbadia, even the one in Balamb. They're all proposing that SeeD be turned into a military organization, shedding itself of its role as a mercenary branch." Cid now studied Squall hard, awaiting his reaction.

This news had served to pick up Squall's interest. He was a little surprised although not completely shocked. The transition from a privately funded and operated military group to that of a public one was indeed a great one. However, it left an empty feeling within Squall's stomach, as if Seed were about to give up its true identity, deciding upon a fake mask instead.

Squall had been studying his hands as he thought. He finally looked up at Cid. "You want my take on this sir?" he stated, reiterating what Cid had said earlier.

"What do you think Squall?"

Again, Squall paused, although this time far more briefly. "Well, it'll mean funding from the government, which can be a good thing since we won't have to depend on contracts anymore. But it'll also mean that we can't choose our battles."

Cid nodded slowly, realizing the exact same thing as well.

Squall had a look of determination and it was heard in his voice as he spoke. "But I think it's time for a change and maybe this is what we need."

Cid smiled this time. "That's what I think too Squall. I believe this will be the right choice. But… only time will tell."

'Yeah,' Squall agreed. 'Only time will tell.'

* * *

Tidus clumsily weaved in and out of traffic through the city as his reckless driving earned honks of protest from other angry drivers. Some would swear, some would roll down their window and spit and some would give him the finger as he had given Derek only a while earlier.

Next to him, the orange haired man eyed the passenger mirror on the right side of the car. He calmly and quietly reloaded his weapon as he carefully slipped the cartridge into the handle. The seat was stained with blood but he didn't pay any attention as he continued to observe the mirror.

Tidus would have enjoyed this new experience of driving an automobile but given the current situation, his mind was racing with thoughts as he attempted to steady his driving. His foot was still heavy on the gas but he was quickly grasping how it all worked.

A very heavy silence lingered in the car as Tidus eyed the road, glancing at the orange haired man from time to time. He had only met him moments earlier and they had now been driving for no more than a couple of minutes after confronting the silver haired individuals back in the square.

With the silence, the heavy smell and sight of blood, and the entire scenario getting to him, Tidus finally spoke up. "Look uh… Back then when I gave you the finger, I didn't really mean it."

Derek turned and looked at Tidus. The man's younger face with partially stained with blood as were his hands gripping the steering wheel. "Don't worry about it."

Tidus nodded, his eyes still focused on the road. "I didn't get your name."

The orange haired man paused for a moment before speaking. "It's Derek. And you?"

"I'm Tidus."

Derek turned around and surveyed the backseat of the car. He then peered down and noticed a locked compartment directly underneath the rear seats. He looked up through the rear window to see if he could spot anyone approaching. 'Good. We got some time.'

With the gun in his left hand, Derek fired a shot at the lock, shattering both it, and the silence that had existed.

"What the fuck!" Tidus shouted, swerving violently to the side out of reaction. "What the hell are you doing you crazy bastard?" He attempted to look behind him to see what the other man was up to but given his shaky driving, he concentrated on simply keeping his eyes on the road.

"Relax, I'm just checking something," came the calm reply. Derek had now reclined his chair and was leaning down into the rear of the car, pulling out a heavy, large, metallic box from underneath the seats. With some effort thanks to his awkward position, Derek picked up the box and laid it on the seats. Opening the now destroyed latch, he lifted the lid to find a pleasant surprise. "Jackpot baby."

"What? What did you find?"

"Some allies."

Tidus' face contorted into one of confusion. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Derek ignored him as he took out the pieces of the assault rifle and turned back into his seat, beginning to assemble them. Tidus shot a glance his way and caught sight of the weapon.

"Oh no… Don't tell me you're planning on using that." Tidus complained.

"You wanna get killed by those freaks back there or not?"

"But we're so far ahead of them now, are they actually going to catch up?"

Derek let out a faint chuckle. He was humored by Tidus' ignorance. "They'll find us. More specifically, they'll find me."

At this, Tidus' curiosity picked up. "But why? Why are they after you? What do they want?" He kept shooting glances at Derek as he completed assembling the assault rifle.

Ignoring Tidus, Derek reached into the back and pulled out the long clips of ammunition. He checked the passenger mirror again and sure enough, he could make two silver haired individuals in the distance weaving in and out of traffic with speed, approaching their car.

"Here comes the cavalry," he said ever so quietly.

"What?" came Tidus' confused response.

Derek glanced over at Tidus, whose face contained a mixture of confusion, fear and determination. "Just keep driving kid. No matter what happens, keep driving." He glanced back at the passenger mirror. It was Loz and Yazoo, and they were getting closer. It was only a matter of time before another battle erupted in this city, claiming more innocent lives that got in the way.

Loz and Yazoo were now fifty feet away and closing in. The traffic was moderate: not too heavy, but not thin as well.

"There they are," Loz shouted over to his brother on the side.

Yazoo nodded and kept his gaze forwards, concentrating on the vehicle with the bullet holes in it. As he passed a small truck with a middle aged man in it, Yazoo shot him through the side window and straight in the head for the fun of it. The man's bloodied head immediately fell on the steering wheel and the truck began to swerve off towards oncoming traffic as Yazoo smirked. He weaved past another car and sped forward, his brother following right behind.

Derek took one last glance at the mirror in disgust and slight shock at what he had just witnessed. 'Sick fuck'. They were too close now. Looking up, he saw the sunroof of the car. "Kid, can you open that up?" He pointed at the sunroof to Tidus.

Tidus looked at it and another expression of confusion etched across his face. "Open it?" What do you mean?" He didn't exactly understand what Derek was asking of him. "Can that be opened?"

Derek gave Tidus another quick death glare and slid his right hand slowly over his face in exasperation. "Never fucking mind." He glanced around the dashboard of the car for any buttons that opened up the sunroof. Only moments behind, the two silver haired men were approaching.

Yazoo kept his gaze steady at the car. They were now no less than twenty feet away. Only two cars to the right line and one in each the middle and left lane came between them and the vehicle up ahead. This street was large, with four lanes on each side for cars to come and go. Yazoo smirked; it was perfect conditions for him and his brother.

All of a sudden, both men saw the sunroof of the car up ahead come flying off its hinges and land on the floor, emitting several sparks of heat as it skidded across the asphalt. The two brothers exchanged brief glances with one another.

Inside the car, having grown frustrated with being unable to find the button releasing the sunroof, Derek had settled on the alternative: smashing his fist through it and tearing it off the car's roof entirely.

"Would you stop doing that?" Tidus screamed, again nearly swerving off the road as a result of being surprised.

Derek turned around in his chair and stood up, moving half his body out the hole in the roof. With assault rifle in hand, and several clips of ammunition at his disposal, Derek took one glance at the men behind him before getting into position.

Tidus looked up, only to see the lower half of Derek's body inside the car. "This guy's gonna get us killed." he muttered.

From twenty feet behind, both Loz and Yazoo had spotted Derek climb out with the rifle in hand.

'Damnit.' Yazoo immediately slammed on the brakes to the bike and pulled a hard turn to the right. His brother simply hit the brakes as his bike fell back. Several other cars immediately began to swerve out of the way and brake as well.

Derek began to empty the clips from the assault rifle in semi-automatic mode. Shots rang out across the large street as from all across, people began running for their lives and cars scrambled to move out of the way.

A light chuckle escaped Derek's lips as he continued firing at the two silver haired men, who had begun to cover themselves behind larger cars.

Yazoo was not laughing at all. Using a larger SUV as cover, he steered to its side just so he could see Derek and the police car. Giving the orange haired man ahead of him a death glare, and with his Velvet Nightmare loaded once again, he aimed and fired.

The true firefight had begun.

Citizens from all across were racing into shops and other buildings or dropping to the floor and covering their heads in small hopes of saving themselves from the menaces present.

Loz, now several paces behind Yazoo, sped on ahead on the opposite lane, weaving in and out of the oncoming cars who repeatedly blared their horns.

The street was in chaos and everything was a mess. Order ceased to exist as cars littered the road in every which way, all trying to escape the frenzy. There were screams, sounds of horns, screeching tires, the sounds of engines running and above all: the sound of persistent gunfire echoing across the streets.

From inside the police vehicle, Tidus continued to concentrate on the road. His eyes narrowed and focused, he attempted his best to drown out the heavy sound of gunfire emitting just several feet above his head from outside the car. His hair fluttered in the wind coming through the sunroof, partially obscuring his view from time to time. He continued to weave in and out of traffic, which was for the most part, in fine order until crossing through it.

It seemed that once the car and two motorcycles pursuing it passed anything, they would leave it in utter ruin and disorder. They were carnage and a virus that infected anything they passed through, corrupting the once tranquil environment.

Derek saw Loz to his far right on the leftmost lane of the street. The large silver haired man was weaving in and out of cars effortlessly, as if it was second nature, never once being in danger of possibly crashing. Derek turned his attention from Yazoo to the other and unleashed fire.

Loz had anticipated it and sped forward, now only forty meters within Derek's proximity. He took out his own Velvet Nightmare and began to fire at Derek.

Derek's eyes slightly widened when the large man fired at him. 'Shit. He's got one too.' He leaned back and shouted at Tidus below. "Kid can you keep the car more stable?"

Tidus, now more annoyed than ever at all that was transpiring, spat back, "Fuck you! How about you come down here and drive your way past all these cars while some lunatic is firing from above! And on top of that, we got two other lunatics trying to disfigure us. Then we got all these people on the street screaming their heads off giving me a fucking headache!"

Derek had stopped listening part way through the younger man's speech, already having grown tired of him, and continued to unleash a barrage of bullets at his pursuers.

* * *

He had killed them all. Every single person he had managed to find inside that floor of the building he had either decapitated, impaled or dismembered ruthlessly, emotionlessly and without remorse. Upon waking up after his very brief fall from consciousness thanks to the materia attack, Kadaj had been surrounded by a group of people dressed in attire reminiscent of those in the Shinra offices.

The people were speaking in hushed voices and staring at him as if he were some specimen. He had immediately gotten up in the blink of an eye, catching everyone off guard. The first to die had been the guards, who had posed no threat to his superior combat skills. The office, already in a state of panic after having a man crash through its window, exploded into frenzy as people began making their ways to the exits. A few foolish individuals had attempted to catch Kadaj in surprise and attacked with chairs, stools, whatever they managed to get their hands on.

They had all been slain effortlessly. Now the once populated floor of this office building lay empty, devoid of life as the smell and decay of rotting flesh filled the air. The atmosphere had changed. The room had gotten cold, indicative of the emotion Kadaj had displayed upon slaughtering the helpless office workers.

He knew why he had attacked them all. Part of it had to do with them lingering over him. Another with the fact at how they looked down on him, which he greatly despised. The last part had to do with his anger at having been bested by the orange haired man from moments earlier.

Kadaj had never seen any competition ever, aside from the nuisance known as Cloud Strife. This new man posed a bigger threat than he first assumed. His attempts to deceive him into joining their cause had not worked and he was now more irritated at the fact of having to deal with two men with Jenova cells as opposed to one.

He approached the window with which he had crashed through and peered out. The streets were in chaos, people panicking and running in all directions. His brothers and the man named Derek had dispersed. The motorcycles were not there. He knew they were on a chase now. He could feel it. He could sense it.

The police had arrived and swarms of their cars occupied the central square of the street in which the fight had taken place moments earlier. They were trying to calm the public, with several officers at the scene taking tests of all sorts, scanning their surroundings and discussing their theories with one another.

Kadaj continued to stare down at the scene as he pondered. The materia used by Derek had been surprisingly powerful. It had been more explosive than he ever imagined. Such high levels of attacks were not possible even by the best of SOLDIER's. To be capable of that kind of power needed extreme dedication, training and a stamina drive that defied all others. Above all however, it needed the mental strength and concentration not seen in anyone but the legendary Sephiroth and perhaps Strife. Sephiroth had been quite possibly the only one known to ever posses such incredible power at his disposal but this man defied this.

Kadaj's side stung to great extent. It would heal but would take some time considering the power of the ice blast that had been unleashed. Had it been anyone else, the attack would have more than easily proven fatal. There was no chance a regular human could withstand that blast.

He continued gazing down lost in his thoughts until he noticed that many officers now had their attention directed to the hole in the building he was looking out of. They were staring directly at him and were immediately on their radios.

It was time to depart. They wouldn't find him no matter how hard they tried. He could deal with them but time was of the essence at the moment and he had other activities to pursue.

His thirst for blood had been quenched anyways… for the moment at least.

* * *

From below, the captain of the Deling City Police Department spoke in frenzy, addressing his officers, detectives and field staff.

"Contact the Galbadian Military. I want them here at this scene now!" He shouted. He was furious and if one looked closely enough, fear could be seen etched across his face. "Find those guys. I want them taken down before they cause anymore harm to anyone."

"Sir!" A younger officer shouted, pushing his way through the crowd and making his way to the captain. "We spotted one of them in the building with the hole in it."

The captain looked up at the third story window of the high rise building towering overhead. "Did they find out what happened? How did he go through the window?"

"Sir," the young officer spoke up, with wide eyes filled with fear, "The people are saying one of the men fighting hit the other with magic that sent him into the window."

The captain's eyes widened slightly as he paused. "Where- where did the strike come from?"

"Sir?" The younger officer asked, confused.

"Where did he shoot the magic from? The one who initiated it." The captain wanted to have an idea of just what he was dealing with here. He had a sickening feeling crawling over at the moment and there was a great sense of despair looming overhead.

The younger officer's eyes shifted nervously, surveying his colleagues before falling on the captain again. "They said it was right here sir, on ground floor."

'Fuck', the captain thought. "He shot him with magic from here and sent him up there?" He gestured with his finger, pointing at the window.

"That's what they're saying sir." The younger officer replied nervously.

"Galbadia military won't be enough. They're still recovering from the sorceress war sir." Another man spoke up. He was the lieutenant.

"Goddamnit…" The captain ran his hand nervously through his short hair and then over his chin, breathing out heavily.

"Sir!" Another voice was heard through the crowd. A man slightly older than the previous younger officer emerged with a look of panic and urgency. "They've been spotted!"

Everyone's ears perked up as the focused their attention to him.

"Where!" The captain nearly barked.

"We've got monitors right now. They're in the upper eastern section of the city, along Garner Street. Shots are being fired sir. Many of them!" The man was breathing frantically as he spoke.

"Are there any cruisers deployed?" The captain asked.

"Yes sir. We sent out a whole task force. They're going to try and box all of them. They wanna cut them off from Main Street."

The captain did not seem relieved or convinced that they would get the job done after witnessing the results of the magic that had just been used.

Thinking quickly, he spoke up with a more booming and confident voice now. "Keep the teams deployed, have more sent along Argyle Avenue. I want those bastards stopped. Clear out the entire eastern sector and tell people to get inside any building and stay there."

The officers and staff all nodded, hanging on every word.

"What about up there sir?" The lieutenant asked.

The captain looked up once more at the large hole in the window. "Send a heavily armed strike force up there with full armor and weapons."

He looked up at the window once again, already fearing what possibly lay inside.

* * *

Tidus was pulling turn after turn, weaving in and out of traffic that was simply exploding into a chaotic state all around him. The sound of gunfire overhead never ceased. He didn't like the position he was pit in: fleeing from the enemy. Normally, he would dash into the heat of crisis with fierce determination, intent on neutralizing the problem.

This was different however. He had never witnessed warriors of this caliber. The magic Derek had used was absolutely mind boggling. There were powerful magic users back where he came from but these individuals were a combination of everything that made the ultimate fighter. They possessed unbelievable speed, coordination, power and skill.

The short silver haired man he had fought moments earlier had strength that was unmatched. Tidus' hands still hurt due to the blows received from the man's fists against his sword.

Tidus clenched his teeth and checked the side mirror. To his horror, the short haired man was coming up with incredible speed, approaching his left side.

From up above, Derek, currently occupied with Yazoo, spotted the other man coming up fast to the driver's side of the car at the last second. 'Shit.' From his vantage point, he couldn't get a good shot at Loz. Not only that, but he had to decide quickly whether or not he could afford to concentrate on Loz, leaving the dangerous Yazoo open to fire at will. Deciding that he couldn't take the chance, he left the task of the large man to his driver, trusting him to handle the situation while he dealt with gunman pursing him at the moment. 'Come on kid, I'm counting on you.'

Tidus threw a glance out the window to his left. Loz had managed to come up right next to the car. He fired with the Velvet Nightmare right at Tidus. Reacting quickly, the blonde haired man hit the brakes, causing Loz to speed on forward in surprise.

From up above, Derek became winded as the sunroof cut off his circulation of air upon slamming into his midsection. Shaking it off quickly and recovering, he shouted at the man below while continuing to fire at Yazoo. "Remember me? I'm still up here genius!"

Tidus, momentarily having been occupied with evading the shot from Loz, had completely forgotten about Derek. His mind returned to natural state as Loz hit the brakes ahead and slowed down to reach the side of the car once more. Tidus accelerated and sped up, steering to the right of an oncoming car. Loz did the same, steering the left of it. They met up ahead once more.

Tidus' intense blue eyes locked with the calm glowing aqua orbs of Loz. It was then that Tidus realized the glow. He had seen it coming from Derek's eyes as well but had assumed it was his mind playing tricks. Witnessing it now however, it was real. Like a faint illumination, it was still present and was detectable in any weather condition. Loz's eyes bore into the young man, nearly hypnotizing him.

Loz raised the Velvet Nightmare again and prepared to fire. Tidus, in a split second, snapped out of his trance and turned the steering wheel sharply towards Loz, causing the car to run into him.

Clearly surprised, Loz's eyes shot open slightly and his calm façade was temporarily broken as he pulled away further to the left in order to avoid the car.

Tidus' eyes burned with fierce determination. His teeth clenched, he continued to pursue the silver haired man. Loz was clearly frustrated at having nearly been hit by the car. He concealed the Velvet Nightmare as he quickly grabbed the handle for the door of the car. With a quick tug, the door completely came flying off its hinges, creating a suction inside the car.

Tidus had to grip the steering wheel with all his might to prevent himself from being pulled right out of the car.

Derek saw the door of the car come flying off and be thrown behind, bouncing madly with brilliant sparks igniting against the pavement. 'Shit.' He screamed over the wind, still keeping his attention on Yazoo, who seemed to now sport a grin from forty feet away. "Kid, are you okay? Kid!"

Tidus ignored the older man's questions from above as he struggled with control of the steering wheel over the screaming wind. Air was rushing in through the side and causing his hair to flutter madly. Loz approached the car once again and with no door in the way, attempted to deliver a lethal blow to Tidus.

For Loz it was simple. He wanted simply to turn Tidus' head into jelly so the car would stop moving. From then onwards, him and his brother would quickly destroy the young man who had grown into a nuisance and deal with Derek once and for all.

For Tidus, he had other plans on his mind: namely to make it out of here alive in order to be able to ask a whole set of questions to the man standing between the sunroof, firing at will. Quickly shooting a glance to the right, he found empty lanes and swerved in that direction, away from Loz's oncoming fist. A gap had now been formed large enough for Derek to have a good shot at Loz from his vantage point.

Derek immediately felt the car swerve violently to his left and glanced to his right, spotting Loz once again trying to close in towards the passenger side. He bent his torso and attempted to fire below. Immediately, a strange tingling sensation took over his fingers. He was unable to squeeze the trigger and couldn't feel the gun which lay in his grip any longer. His hands at first felt cold as the numbness increased before it exploded, giving way to a great burning sensation.

"Arghh!" He shouted. Looking down at his bloodied hands gripping the rifle. Yazoo had solidly lined up and connected a shot before he was able to fire at Loz. Mustering his strength, Derek pulled out his handgun, now covering it with blood. He immediately slipped it underneath, dropping it on Tidus' thigh. Turning his attention now back to Yazoo, the two locked eyes with each other, shooting mental daggers back and fro. Willing away the pain and numbness from the wound, Derek felt a resurgence in strength as his adrenaline picked up. He knew it wasn't simply adrenaline. Adrenaline did not cause a significant increase in strength and mental concentration in the matter of a few seconds. The new rise in anger prompted the rise of Jenova cells working to give him strength.

He fired at will at Yazoo, unleashing a barrage of bullets. Thinking of the gun he dropped below, he shouted down to Tidus, "Use it!"

Tidus stared at the bloodied weapon on his lap before feeling a large rock collide with his head, sending a large stream of blood shooting out of his mouth. It covered the windshield, smearing it with red. His neck had almost snapped from the collision with the rock. Everything suddenly became quiet as the sound died down. Turning his now numb head to the side slowly in shock, he realized that the collision was from no rock, but from Loz's fist. His eyes were wide but his mind was racing at virtually no speed. He was slipping into an unconscious state and it was so tempting for him to close his eyes at the moment, letting himself escape all the pain in his body and his aching head. He closed his eyes for a moment, wanting to succumb to the darkness before a shout from overhead broke the silence he was shrouding himself in.

"Use it!" came the cry from above. Tidus opened his eyes instantly and sound returned once more from his surroundings. He could hear the screaming of the bike engine to his side, the gunfire from above and the screams from people and traffic all around him.

Tidus picked up the gun instantly with his right hand, his left still on the steering wheel. He aimed at Loz with satisfaction and fired at will. The thunderous shots drowned out the fire from above, being a larger caliber weapon. The recoil from the gun nearly caused it to fly out of his hand after the first shot but his grip was secure and the anger coursing through his veins would not allow him to drop it, not at this critical moment.

Loz deflected the shot of the first bullet with his Dual Hound. The second and third shots were far too quick to follow and had grazed him on the sides of his shoulder and torso.

Hitting on the brakes, Loz fell back quickly within distance of Yazoo. The two exchanged glances once more, now Yazoo with the amused expression and Loz with one of slight irritation.

"I will kill that weakling." He assured his brother with deadly eyes as he thought up a new course of action.

For the moment, Tidus had won, and both of them knew it.

* * *

"Dear Hyne…" The man in charge of the task force gasped in shock.

A group of no less than thirty heavily armed men stood at the entrance of the third floor building with which one of the men had crashed through earlier.

Bodies upon bodies littered the floor. The place was wreck and the smell of rotting flesh filled the air, stinging the noses of the individuals despite wearing masks. Cubicles were knocked over, as well as chairs and other office equipment. Papers were littered all over the floor and spilled beverages soaked up the carpet.

All this did nothing however, to take away the attention from the deceased bodies of the individuals that had brutally been slain. Some had eyes wide open, staring out into empty space with no life. Others had no eyes at all, as they had been cut right out with a blade as it would seem. Some were missing limbs and others had their insides cut open and out, as if one were peering at some type of casserole.

One officer immediately lifted up his mask and vomited to his side. A few others did the same, being unable to hold in the nausea.

One younger member began to shake uncontrollably as he went into shock. He began to shake more and more violently as several team members grabbed him and put him down, attempting to restrain him.

The task force leader had seen enough. "Get him out of here!" He shouted. None of his men deserved this and he knew it. This was far out of their league and he didn't want to lose a single man to something they had no business fighting. Grabbing the closest officer by the collar of his neck, he shouted at him in an icy tone, "Contact the captain and tell him to get Seed here now!"

"Yes sir!" The officer shouted out of respect and fear. Fear from his commanding officer and from the sight just witnessed.

The task force leader turned towards his men. "Everyone on full alert! That guy could still be in here so keep an eye out!"

The men all nervously glanced at one another before nodding. Some hesitantly, others in mechanical fashion, still too stunned from the scene that lay in front.

But the man known as Kadaj had long disappeared, leaving them in a state of panic and paranoia, yet saving them from a similar fate at the same time. They had that much to thank him for.

* * *

Squall was still sitting in the headmaster's office. The two had been discussing the new plan and direction that Garden and Seed would soon take. He had been in the office for more than two hours and now as Cid was sorting through some papers to guide Squall through, he found his mind wandering.

'I wonder how Rinoa's doing. I've been spending too much time working and not enough time with her.' Squall sat with a frown, hunched over with his hands on his knees in typical Squall fashion. 'I know she wants to spend more time with me to but I don't know if I'm ready for this.'

Of course, he was thinking about Rinoa's plans of taking a step forward in their relationship and going further.

Cid looked up from the papers and chuckled. "In that thinking mode of yours again?"

Squall looked up, momentarily snapped out of his thoughts and maintained his frown, although it was not meant to be threatening. "I've just had a lot on my mind sir." He spoke flatly, conveying no emotion.

"I bet you have Squall. We don't like to see you worrying so much. You should treat yourself once in a while. Don't be so hard and punish yourself. Life is not meant to be like that."

The scowl on Squall's face deepened. If he slapped Rinoa's face onto Cid at the moment, he could have sworn that it was her speaking to him. After all, these were her words. It was no secret that she wanted him to open up to her and others. She wanted to see him full of life but change did not come easily, especially when certain traits in a character had existed for some time.

"_Squall, why don't you tell me how you feel from time to time?" It was a quiet Saturday night, three months after the Ultemicia event and the two were alone in Rinoa's dorm. She looked stunning in simple black shorts and a tight white tank top, revealing a great deal of skin. _

_Squall already knew what she had in mind based on the clothes she was wearing and the light makeup she had applied. On top of that, she had probably taken a shower before he had arrived as she now smelled unbelievably intoxicating. Any normal man at that moment would have jumped on her then and there but this was Squall. Squall simply could not give into silly emotions so easily. He had trained all his life to keep them in check, allowing logic to rule over desire._

_Rinoa too, was not a woman who would come out with it in a straightforward manner. She was far too respectable for that and knew the type of man she was dealing with. She would give Squall all the time he wanted. _

"_Rinoa, you know why." Squall replied, not meeting her curious and intense dark eyes. "I can't just change like that. I've already done quite a bit haven't I?" He finally looked up, meeting her gaze._

"_Of course!" She sat down next to him on the bed. He pulled his gaze away, nervous at having her so close to him. She continued to have this effect on him despite the fact that they had grown closer in the past few months. He felt her hand suddenly on his and looked at it before looking up at her once more. She shone with beauty and radiated an aura of great emotion. "Squall, you know that you can tell me anything." She paused to study him momentarily before whispering this time. "Anything."_

_Squall was becoming more nervous by the moment and quickly stood up, walking to the other side of the room and putting his hand on the wall, resting his head on it. 'Great," he thought, his eyes closed, 'Way to ruin the moment Squall.'_

_Rinoa stood up from behind and approached him slowly, putting her hand on his shoulder. She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "It's okay Squall. We don't have to rush anything. We can take this as slow as you want."_

_Overwhelmed with a great sense of emotion and frightened by it, Squall did the only thing he could. "I- I'm sorry Rinoa, I have to go now." And with that, he quickly left the room and fled, leaving Rinoa behind in an obvious state of disappointment and regret. Outside, he quickly made his way to his own dorm on the other side of the wing. 'You fucking coward!' He mentally screamed. 'You are such a fucking pussy!'_

That had been a month and a half ago. He had tried to apologize to Rinoa afterwards but she had refused his apology, assuring him that he had done nothing wrong. This had only served to make him feel worse. He had acted like a child and fled from her advances and she had welcomed him back with open arms shortly afterwards. This was why Squall admired her. She was one of a kind.

He decided that after the playful mood she had been in today, he would take advantage of it. He knew what she had on her mind after their playful encounter hours earlier. He would not mess it up this time and was determined to make it up to her for the last time.

"Squall?" The headmaster spoke up once more. Squall looked up to see the amused expression on the older man's face. "Are you even listening?" He chuckled.

"I'm sorry sir. I know-"

Cid interrupted Squall by raising his hand up in the air. "Think nothing of it. In fact, I think we're done here. Go and enjoy the rest of the day with that lovely girlfriend of yours."

Squall smacked his forehead with his hand. Everyone knew about their relationship, even the headmaster now. Removing his hand from his forehead, he nodded at the still smiling Cid and began to gather up some papers.

The phone rang and Cid answered it. "Yes Xu, what is it? Who? Okay… patch them through then…" The older man's expression had gone from lighthearted to slightly troubled.

Squall gathered the papers and stood up, putting them on the headmaster's desk as he gave the man in the chair a glance.

Cid's facial expression was undergoing a quick transformation in a matter of seconds. First it had been amused when he had been addressing Squall, then slightly disrupted when answering the phone call. Immediately after that, his brows had contorted, causing his expression to appear worried. Now, his eyes were slightly wide open as he gazed at his desk lifelessly and listened intently to the person on the other end of the phone.

Squall's curiosity had picked up and he waited, wondering what the purpose of this call could have possibly been. He was not the type to be nosy but instinct told him to wait on this call, for it could deliver some important news that possibly involved him.

"Okay, I understand sir." Cid spoke calmly yet it was clear that he was troubled and distressed. " I will. I will very shortly." He spoke assuring the person on the other line. "Calm down, we'll take care of it. I promise you that I'll send a group of the best. You have my word." With that, he looked up at Squall worriedly, a brief flash of sadness engulfing his eyes before disappearing once more to give way to the worried ones. "I'll contact you again shortly once I've sent in a strike team."

Cid put down the phone and squeezed his eyes shut. He took off his short spectacles, rubbing the bridge of his nose before putting them back on.

It didn't take a genius to know that a problem had arisen somewhere in the world and Seed was needed. But it was the severity of the problem that was in question.

"What? What is it sir?" Squall spoke up.

Cid opened his eyes and looked at Squall. He sighed before speaking. "There's a major disturbance in Deling City right now as we speak. They've classified it as immediate high priority Squall. They requested that we send in the best."

* * *

******Author's notes: Chapter four. This time it didn't take three months to get it up like with the last chapter. I promised I'd get this one up sooner and I did. Tidus is proving to be real difficult to keep in character. I'm trying to make his as realistic as possible in accordance to the story but it's tricky. I want all characters to retain their in game characteristics and traits. If you find anything wrong with story, whether it's with the characters or plot, etc. then feel free to criticize. Constructive criticism is always appreciated as I'm always seeking to improve my writing. The next chapter is the inevitable confrontation between Seed and the Jenova boys. Hope you enjoy.**


	6. A Cry Of Despair

**A Cry Of Despair**

**

* * *

**

The eastern portion of Galbadia City was in a state of frenzy and chaos as people sought refuge in the nearest shelter, whether it be an apartment building, store, facility, or random high rise building.

The police had issued for all citizens to remain inside until further notice and although many were still in the streets, running for cover and panicking, it was an improvement over the large masses that existed a mere half hour earlier.

Tidus was driving with determination, his teeth clenched and a grim expression plastered onto his face. Traffic was becoming lighter as fewer cars appeared on the road but the challenge of weaving in and out through the cars still on the street posed as great a problem as before.

Up above, through the sunroof, a fatigued and bloodied Derek caught sight of Yazoo and Loz still several tens of meters behind, keeping their distance as they sped through traffic. Over the past half hour, Derek had become numb to the sound of the screaming citizens, the screeching of tires and honking of horns. It was a mess in this part of the city.

The sound of sirens from behind him caused him to turn around in an instant as he spotted a blockade of police cars up ahead as the car approached it. Turning around to face the rear of the car once more, Derek reloaded another fresh clip as two shots flew by his side, nearly taking off flesh, courtesy of Yazoo.

"Tidus, we have extra company!" Derek shouted as he began unleashing another barrage of bullets at the two pursuers.

* * *

"Here you go sweetie." The young brunette female softly said as she handed the spiky blond headed warrior a warm glass of liquid to drink. Cloud looked up from his seat on the wooden bench as his glowing blue orbs met the girl's soft brown ones.

"Thank you." He stated before taking a sip of the drink, instantly feeling relieved from the warmth that spread through his body.

The girl blushed a deep crimson red as she tore her gaze away from his piercing eyes. She couldn't help but sense a powerful aura emanating from the mysterious man. "Um, would you like anything else?" She asked him shyly.

Cloud shook his head lightly. "I'm fine for now, thank you."

The girl nodded before turning around, to go and help others in the dining hall of the rebuilding Trabia Garden Academy. Casting one last shy glance at Cloud, she smiled at him before hurrying off to a group of cadets in need of supplies.

Had the situation been any different, Cloud might have smirked at the girl's playfulness and at how shy she was. But this was no time to dwell on trivial matters. Cloud Strife had to find out where he was, and what he was doing in this foreign land.

After several hours of driving through the snow on his bike Fenrir, Cloud had spotted a camp set up a distance away. Having approached the camp, he was greeted by a group of five young individuals who offered to take him back to their headquarters known as Trabia Garden. Apparently, Garden was a military academy that housed cadets and soldiers, some known as Seeds, who were the cream of the crop as one eloquently put it.

Cloud turned his head to observe his surroundings once more. He was in what was described as the dining hall. Parts of the roof were completely torn off, apparently by a missile blast initiated months earlier during a war as was explained by a soldier. The dining hall itself was in fair shape considering how many pieces of the walls and ceiling were either missing, or cracked. He had been assured by a member of staff that the building was safe to be in at the moment. Rows of wooden benches were lined up adjacent to one another and in rows, running across the large hall.

There appeared to be several hundred young males and females at the moment all dining and conversing socially, occupying practically every bench as aids walked around to assist anyone in need of anything. It was an odd sight, for when Cloud had entered the Garden, it was in a complete state of despair and there were many inhabitants who seemed to be recovering from severe injuries caused months earlier from the missile attack. Most of them appeared extremely young as well. Yet at this exact moment, in that dining hall, it appeared as if all of the problems of every single individual there ceased temporarily as they were all lost in interesting conversations with one another.

Cloud was able to release a small smile, if only because it was nice to see some happiness during such a time of dread.

"You know you have a beautiful smile?" The voice of the girl from earlier broke his thoughts as he looked at her once more. Cloud simply stared at her, remaining quiet. The girl herself smiled as she sat down across from him on the other side of the bench. "You don't mind do you?" She asked shyly, awaiting his answer.

Cloud shook his head once before speaking softly. "Not at all." The girl was beautiful and she reminded him of a younger version of Tifa. The immediate thought of Tifa caused him to frown as he worried about her and the others he had left behind in this current state. He didn't want to think about what those silver haired men from earlier would do now that he was gone.

The girl frowned too as she noticed him looking concerned. "Is there something wrong?" She asked, looking genuinely curious.

"It's nothing." Cloud simply stated, a stoic expression now plastered on his face to prevent anyone from deciphering his thoughts and feelings.

"You know, I never got your name earlier. You just came in with a few of the guys."

Cloud paused for a moment and contemplated as to whether or not he should state his name. Deciding there would be no harm in doing so, he simply replied, "It's Cloud."

The girl raised her eyebrows. "Just Cloud? Don't you have a last name?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, it's just Cloud. That's the only name you need to know."

The girl let out a short, but pleasant sounding laugh. "It's alright if you don't want to tell me, I'm not hurt." She stated, faking a hurt facial expression for a moment. Cloud secretly enjoyed her playfulness at the moment, if only to get his mind off the current state of panic it was in. "I'm Tiffany Connells."

Cloud's eyes widened ever so slightly at the mention of her first name. What were the odds, he thought of a Tifa look-a-like having a name resembling hers as well?

"What's wrong? You seem surprised by something." Tiffany asked, cocking her head to the side.

Cloud looked down at his hands before he met her gaze once more. "It's nothing," he began, now looking off to the distance wistfully. "It's just that I once knew someone who had the same name as you."

"Oh?" The girl's eyes widened considerably as her interest picked up even more. She folded her hands across her chest as she leaned forward a little on her bench. "Did she look anything like me?"

'More than you would ever know.' Cloud thought before his attention was caught by a group of young soldiers huddled over a small TV screen in the corner of the dining hall. Over the past few minutes, more and more individuals had gathered around it, watching attentively at something.

Cloud looked at Tiffany and pointed over at the TV, ignoring her question. "Do you know what they're looking at over there?"

A small look of disappointment crossed the young brunette's face as she turned around to check where he was pointing at. "Honestly, no I don't." She replied, shrugging and turning back around. "You wanna go have a look?"

Cloud nodded and at that, both of them stood up and walked across the hall and towards the TV and the large group of people. Cloud could feel the stares of the soldiers all around the room laying eyes on him and his unusual attire. He silently appreciated the fact that he had left his sword inside his bike out in the courtyard.

"Aren't you cold in that outfit?" Tiffany asked, now walking right by his side, staring at his bare arms.

"I'm fine." Came the simply reply as Cloud approached the television set. He tried to peer over and through a group of people but to no success.

"What's going on?" Tiffany asked a boy slightly older than her, tapping him on the shoulder.

The young man with short, jet black hair turned around and observed the pair for a second before speaking up. "There's some kind of large crisis in Galbadia right now, or so they say. It's on the news everywhere."

"What kind of crisis?" Cloud asked, genuinely curious at the moment, leaning in closer to get a better look at the television set.

The young man shrugged. "We're just hearing about it right now. As if there aren't enough problems in this world. The Sorceress War just ended and now we have this. I mean, what the hell? Can't those idiots over there deal with anything?"

"It's probably nothing Jeff." Tiffany exclaimed, biting her lip as she stared at Cloud and then back at Jeff.

"You'd think so," Jeff began, getting excited, "but one of the guys involved just fired off an insane blast of magic. I mean, it was nuts Tif."

Cloud cringed for a moment at the sound of the name before regaining his composure. From the sounds of it, it appeared as if this place didn't house individuals capable of strong magic. "What, you mean there aren't guys normally capable of dealing that kind of magic here?"

The young man, who was actually a head taller than Cloud, straightened up with a confused expression on his face. "What? No, it's just that no one apart from the best Seed's are capable of that kind of magic so they're trying to identify whether the guy is a rogue Seed or not. And the silver haired guys themselves don't seem to be pushovers either."

Cloud's body stiffened at the mention of the silver haired men. He couldn't believe it, it just couldn't be true. He felt his entire body go numb at the entire moment. With that, he quickly but gently made his way through the pack of people until he had fair view of the TV.

The screen displayed several scenes on the screen at once. On the top left corner, Cloud could make out several people fighting in an urban city and immediately recognized the short silver haired one as Kadaj himself. Cloud cursed under his breath as he clenched his teeth and fists tightly and as his heartbeat picked up. The screen in the right top corner showed an orange haired man dodge several attacks from a large silver haired man who Cloud immediately recognized as Loz.

'So they're all here too. But where is here and how the hell did this happen?' Cloud pondered angrily as his thoughts were interrupted when he saw the orange haired man fire off a thick blast of what appeared to be ice at an unsuspecting Kadaj.

Cloud heard mutters from many people in the group as they all exchanged nervous and excited glances. The main screen, occupying the majority of the television set, showed what appeared to be live footage from a helicopter zooming in on the orange haired man, who was firing bullets out of the sunroof of a car at someone in pursuit. The camera zoomed in on the man's face, where his hair was wildly blowing in the wind in all directions, as he appeared to be shouting out words at Loz and Yazoo, who were a distance away on their bikes.

The face of the man looked ever so slightly familiar to Cloud but given the current shock he was in, he just couldn't exactly place whether he truly remembered him or if he was simply conjuring things with his own mind.

Tearing himself away from the TV screen, he raced out of the crowd and found Tiffany peering over the shoulders of several people trying to get a better view. Cloud walked up to her and grabbed her firmly by shoulders, turning her around to face him.

The young woman looked up at him in slight fear. Cloud eased his grip slightly as he spoke as calmly as he could in his current state. "Listen, I really need your help right now. Will you help me?"

The younger girl simply nodded slowly as she stood shorter than him. "I- It depends on what it is." The girl replied softly, slightly terrified of the sudden intensity Cloud displayed.

"I need you to tell me how to get to where those guys on the television are right now. Please."

* * *

General Caraway stood up from his desk and slammed his fists down on the wooden surface with tremendous force, rattling it.

"What the hell is going on here!" He roared to his lieutenant, who took a step back but held his position. "We just had a situation no less than a few months ago! We don't need this shit right now!" Caraway shouted furiously, his eyes filled with fire.

"Sir, we already sent a request to dispatch Seed and the headmaster assured me the best would be on the way." The lieutenant's voice remained somewhat steady.

"Chris, send out a large group of our military right now and lock off the entire eastern section of the city! Wait until my orders arrive. The police won't be able to do a damn thing, those incompetent bastards!" The general shouted. He began to pace around the room frantically, each moment or so, his gaze falling on the large television screen covering the recent events.

Caraway fell silent for a moment as his eyes remained glued to the TV screen before the feed on the screen from the helicopter quickly became distorted and was abruptly cut off, resulting in nothing but static.

* * *

Kadaj, who was perched on top of a the roof of a semi tall high rise building, watched as a police helicopter flew by overhead, chasing after Derek and his brothers in the streets below. He frowned upon spotting people inside the helicopter capturing footage.

'How dare they?' He thought, his anger rising. The young silver haired warrior took his right hand and placed it around his left wrist. Within seconds, a pulsating green glow began to emit from the area, growing larger and larger. Raising his left arm slowly, Kadaj followed the trajectory of the helicopter until he was satisfied with its position before unleashing a powerful blast of ultima magic that shook him from his spot.

Up above in the helicopter, the two pilots had their attention snapped from the street chase and directed towards a fast approaching green blast of energy.

"What the hell is that!" A camerawoman screamed from the back. Her assistant next to her, clutched at her dress tightly in fear before being overwhelmed by intense heat and light.

The shot of ultima magic from Kadaj's arm connected with the helicopter from up above, setting it into a blazing inferno. Brilliant sparks lit up the sky as the sound of the explosion rocked the city streets and the debris of the wreckage slowly began to descend towards the ground.

People began to scream and run at a more frantic pace, making way to any shelter they could find in order to avoid the pieces of the falling blast.

The police surrounding the area all looked up in fear and shock. "Oh Hyne no…" One officer shouted in shock.

"We need Seed here now." The captain of the force muttered, too shocked himself, to display any other emotion as he looked up at the blazing ball of wreckage falling from above.

The police in the cop cars all stared out of their windows as they frantically rushed out of the way of the potential falling spot of all the debris.

Loz and Yazoo, who were far up ahead of any of the police cars, smirked in appreciation at having their younger brother deal with the pesky officials. Both of them accelerated ahead towards Derek and Tidus, who continued to evade traffic at all costs, while keeping the two silver haired men at bay.

Tidus heard the thunderous explosion but didn't dare to look out for fear of losing his concentration and losing the safe distance they had from the two psychotic men at their heels. "What the hell is that?" He shouted up towards Derek.

The orange haired man had heard Tidus' question but ignored him as he stopped firing for a moment and looked up at where the shot of ultima magic had come from. He squinted and could have sworn that he saw Kadaj at that moment looking down at him.

From up above, Kadaj watched with interest as Derek sped further and further away down the street with his two brothers not far behind. "That's right Derek," he muttered, "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Squall watched inside the Headmaster's office with a face that was expressionless at the moment. Both he and the Cid observed the screen hanging from the ceiling as it displayed images of several silver haired men engage combat with two others.

The Headmaster had a worried expression while Squall sat in his usual hunched over position, with his arms folded across his lap as he studied the men on the screen.

There were five in total from what he could tell and for a moment, didn't understand why the Galbadian authorities couldn't deal with the situation themselves. It was typical of them. As soon as the slightest bit of trouble reared its head, it was Seed to the rescue because they were all useless.

Squall rolled his eyes. That was until he witnessed the short silver haired man dodge the bullets from his opponent: an orange haired individual. The speed displayed by the young silver haired warrior was super human, causing him to appear as nothing more than a blur.

"Sir?" Xu spoke through the telecom.

"Yes Xu?" The Headmaster replied, never taking his eyes off the screen.

"The Ragnorak is ready."

"Very good. We'll be ready to depart soon."

Squall began to pay attention to the large silver haired man, who seemed to have qualities that reminded him of Zell. He appeared to be a pure fighter but displayed unnatural physical strength. He was engaged in combat with a blonde, flaky haired warrior carrying a large bright blue sword.

At this point, Squall was slightly intrigued at the fighting capabilities of the men. He witnessed the orange haired man unleash a powerful blast of magic at his silver haired opponent, causing him to lean forward even further. He was somewhat perplexed. The five of them seemed completely oblivious to the rest of their surroundings as they attempted to kill each other.

He frowned as he turned to Cid. "Headmaster, who are these people?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, my boy."

"Do they know what branch any of them descend from? Galbadian military renegades? Ex- Esthar forces?"

Cid simply shrugged and shook his head. "The Galbadian authorities have officially requested our aid and so I'm sending you out." Cid now looked Squall straight in the eye. "That is... if you wish to go." I don't want to force anything on you after the Sorceress War. You've more than earned a break from all of this."

Squall thought for a moment. He wasn't sure how serious this all was. He wanted to go, a part of him longing to engage in combat once more. He was hungry for action after the current stretch of peace. Another part of him knew that Rinoa would be upset about this.

"Sir, I want to go but I'm not sure-"

Cid immediately cut him off, raising his hand. "As I said, I wish to force nothing on you. I'm sure it's not as great a threat as they're making it out to be. We can send in a task force of several Seeds to assist the military."

Squall nodded but didn't seem so sure after witnessing the fighting capabilities of the men. He exhaled slowly, rubbing his hand over his face. "I'll go sir."

"Squall, you don't have to feel obligated to-"

"Headmaster," Squall began, his stormy grey eyes locking with the Headmaster's, "I want to be there."

The determined look in his eyes convinced Cid that he was telling the truth. The older man glanced away. "Squall, I want you to assemble a team as large as you want."

"That won't be necessary sir. I already have who I want in mind."

Cid got up, with Squall doing the same thing. "Very well. Let Nida know when you're ready to depart."

"Thank you sir." Squall saluted the older man before he left the office and rode the elevator down to the main floor.

Squall made his way around the Garden and towards the dormitories. He would have tell Rinoa first of all about the new mission that had come up. He was fully aware of the fact that she wouldn't be too ecstatic to hear the news. As much as he wished to be with Rinoa at the moment, he was itching for a good fight as well and the Headmaster had somewhat sensed that as well.

He entered the female section of the dormitory and began to receive many looks from the female cadets and Seeds walking around.

Ever since his appointment to commander and especially following the entire Sorceress ordeal, his popularity and fame had skyrocketed. Nowhere had that become more evident than with the Garden female population. Knowing that he was with Rinoa, the females kept their space but he could always feel their eyes on him whenever he went and it made him extremely uncomfortable.

He recalled a conversation with Irvine.

* * *

_"What are you talking about?" Irvine began, after hearing Squall's problem regarding the sudden surge in attention from the women._

_"I already told you. It bothers me." Squall began, slightly turning red._

_"Are you kidding me?" Irvine was shocked. "That's not a problem! That's a huge blessing. Thank Hyne for your luck!"_

_"What?" Squall raised an eyebrow._

_"My friend, you know what you have to do." Irvine began, smiling._

_"And what is that...?" Squall didn't like the direction this conversation was going in._

_"Play time! You gotta hit it with the honeys." Irvine stuck both arms out ahead of himself as if grabbing something and began thrusting his hips repeatedly in a forward motion._

_Squall immediately smacked his forehead. "Irvine!" His blush was now becoming apparent. Why had he even thought it would have been a good idea to talk to him? This was Irvine of all people. He must have been the crazy one to actually believe Irvine would be any help._

_"What? This is an opportunity of a lifetime. I'd trade places with you in a second!"_

_"Irvine, I'm with Rinoa remember?"_

_"Oh yeah." Irvine thought, rubbing his hand with his chin. "Well maybe Rinoa is one of those cool chicks who's lenient you know?"_

_Squall raised both eyebrows in disbelief, staring at his friend as if he was completely devoid of any brain. "What the-"_

_"I mean, if you can put up with her being a sorceress and all, then I'm sure she'd be willing to return the favor and let you beat around other bushes for a while. If you get my drift?" Irvine winked at Squall and jabbed him playfully in the ribs several times._

_Squall simply stared at him with a darkened facial expression._

_That day, Irvine had told the rest of the gang that the black eye he had received was from him colliding with a protruding object but would not specify exactly what that object had been._

_

* * *

_

Squall could have smiled at the memory as he walked to Rinoa's room, avoiding all the glances. Could have, that was. He had to deal with the so called "crisis" in Galbadia before he could think about anything else at the moment.

Arriving at Rinoa's door, he let out a long breath as he stood there, unsure of what to say. Why was he so apprehensive? It was just a simple mission and she would not see it as a big deal.

Squall prepared himself and knocked on the door once, firmly. He waited a moment or so and after he was sure she hadn't heard him, was about to knock again before the door to her room swung open, with Rinoa standing in the doorway.

Upon spotting him, she quickly broke out into a warm, wide smile as her brown eyes locked with his grey ones. Squall smiled as well, looking at her for a moment before he realized what she was wearing as his eyes began to trail down the rest of her body unconsciously.

Rinoa was wearing a simple tight white tank that came down just above her belly button, exposing her naval area and tiny black shorts that exposed the rest of her bare, smooth, slender legs. She was barefoot and looked extremely innocent and sexy at the same time. Squall began to question whether he would be able to will himself to go on this mission after what he just witnessed.

"Squall?" Rinoa's soft voice invaded his ears as his senses returned to their normal state, pulling him away from the trance he had just been in.

'Damn Irvine. This is what you get for hanging around him.' Squall shut his eyes tight, trying to get the image of her out of his head but failed miserably when he opened his eyes and found that she was standing there, looking the same as before. 'Damn, I'm screwed.'

'Literally.' Another part of him thought.

'Shut up!' He mentally yelled to himself.

Rinoa began to look concerned as she recognized the ever familiar mental war raging inside his head. This time, the topics of discussion inside his head were a far cry from his usual thoughts. She reached out and cupped a hand across his face.

Squall immediately stopped thinking altogether. All thoughts vanished as he stared at her, his mind now blank and only responding to the soft feel of her hand. He looked at her with his mouth slightly open, his face anxious and nervous.

Rinoa smiled once more. "Come inside, they're all watching us out here."

Squall chuckled faintly and took her hand as she led him inside, closing the door behind them. Immediately, she turned him around and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his. Rinoa pressed her lips against his and Squall's eyes opened widely at just how spontaneous she was being.

Slowly, the feeling of extreme comfort and pure bliss began to overwhelm him as he began to close his eyes, returning the kiss as well and giving in to his primal instincts. Just then however, as the rest of his body began to shut down, a part of his brain clicked into gear and like the key in the ignition of a car sending a spark to the engine in order to bring it to life, began to send electrical impulses throughout his body, reminding him once more of the task he had taken up and the reason for his visit.

Squall inwardly groaned as he broke the kiss and pulled away from Rinoa, who attempted to close the gap by pulling him in once more. Squall almost gave in to the temptation a second time before he forcefully pulled back and reached behind his neck, prying her arms loose.

"Rinoa wait."

The raven haired beauty looked genuinely hurt but was doing her best not to show it. "What's wrong?" She looked slightly stunned but her composure remained solid. Perhaps she had gone too quickly since this was Squall she was dealing with. He was always shy when it came to these things and in their relationship; it was always she who had to make the first move for any progress to be made.

"Listen Rinoa, I have to tell you something." Squall began, looking visibly uncomfortable.

Rinoa mentally berated herself for moving so quickly and coming on so strong. "Squall listen, I understand. I'm sorry that I rushed so-"

Squall fully understood the misunderstanding. "No Rinoa, it's not that." He raised both hands, motioning for her to stop. She did and he put them down, letting out a quiet sigh.

"What is it?" She asked, her eyes studying his, searching for some possible clue as to what was on his mind.

Squall looked into her eyes and felt guilty for what he was about to say. He was seriously reconsidering giving the task at hand to someone else and staying with her but he had given the Headmaster his word. "There's been a situation in Galbadia." He spoke tensely.

Rinoa's eyes widened slightly as she stepped in closer. "What kind? Is it serious?"

Squall shook his head. "No, no. At least, not that I know but they're saying it is. You know how they are."

"And you're going..." It wasn't a question, but a statement of realization as she turned to the side and brushed past him, staring straight ahead.

Squall turned to face her. "I don't think it's anything big, the Headmaster just asked me a moment ago. Rinoa, if you don't want me to go, I'll stay and we can send someone else to take my place." Squall continued to look at her back as she kept her face hidden from him.

She turned around, a wave of positive energy seeming to emit around her as her eyes twinkled in the dim light and an excited smile took to her face. Squall took a small step back in surprise.

"No, go." She whispered, stepping closer to him and taking his hands into hers once more. "You can't fool me Squall Leonhart. You think I can't see right through you? This is your chance to go out there after months of being stranded inside with nothing to. I want you to go and I know you do too."

Squall visibly turned red and secretly thanked the lack of light in the room at the moment for helping conceal his embarrassment. "I- we won't be gone long."

Rinoa's beautiful smile grew as she leaned in once more and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I want to come too."

Squall rolled his eyes. He knew where she was going with this. "No Rinoa."

"Please?" She flashed her eyelids in adorable fashion several times and pouted her lips playfully. "I just want a chance to get some field experience with the oh so legendary Squall Leonhart."

Squall did his best not to chuckle at her actions at the moment. If not for his years of strict military training, he would have succumbed to the laughter. "No." He did his best to keep a serious facial expression.

"But you said so yourself. This mission isn't that big of a deal so you don't have to worry about anything happening to precious me." She raised her eyebrows up and down several times in seductive fashion.

Squall wasn't going to give in to her game. "Exactly, which means we'll be back at Garden in no time so you have nothing to worry about."

Rinoa scoffed. "You're mean."

Besides, Squall began, a small smile creeping onto his face now. "We both know that you'd only slow me down."

Rinoa took a step back, letting out a small gasp as her mouth opened wide. "Is that Squall Leonhart, with a joke?" She put her hand to her mouth, feigning shock.

Squall rolled his eyes once more. "So funny. Anyways, I really have to be going now. I won't take long I promise."

Rinoa walked up to him, her expression now serious once more as she scanned his eyes. "Just be careful okay?"

Squall nodded once. They both stood there just staring at each other for several moments before Squall broke his gaze and reluctantly turned away, heading for the door.

"Squall wait!" He turned around. "I'll come with you to the ship at least."

He smiled at her, opening the knob for the door. "That's alright, I'll make it there without you somehow."

Rinoa smiled as well, letting out a silent but delighted laugh. "Wow. That's two jokes for Squall and in one day as well. This must really be the end of the world."

Squall gave her a wave as he exit the room and shut the door behind him. He took several steps down the hall before he heard the door to her room open. Turning around for a moment, Squall was just in time to see Rinoa blow him a kiss before she winked at him and shut the door.

Squall gazed at the rest of the female faculty, only now becoming aware of their presence once more, having left the vicinity of Rinoa's room. He became self conscious and walked with his eyes cast down on the floor as he made his way out into the main lobby. He had already wasted too much time.

Pulling out his phone, he dialed Zell's dorm number, figuring it was where he was. He frowned after there was no ring tone, suggesting that his phone had been disconnected. He then punched in Irvine's number and angrily cancelled the call after Irvine's automated message picked up. Sighing as he made his way around to the men's dormitories, he punched in Selphie's number, secretly hoping she wouldn't pick up.

To his displeasure, she did as he was greeted by a sickeningly cheerful feminine voice. "Hey! Who is it?"

Squall breathed out uncomfortably, aiming to make this conversation as short as possible. "Selphie, it's Squall."

"Hey Squall! What a surprise to get a call from you!"

"Yeah, listen... I need a pilot to fly the Ragnorak." He clenched his teeth, awaiting her inevitable excited response.

"Woohoo! We're going on a mission aren't we! Of course I'll fly it. When and where commander?"

"Meet me on the flight deck with Nida in five minutes." With that, Squall immediately terminated the call before she could reply back. Squall began to walk towards the male dorms and looked up to the second floor.

His eyes landed on a familiar figure perched over the ledge, staring straight into the water fountains.

From up above, almost as if he could sense someone staring at him, Irvine broke his gaze with the hypnotic water moving around in the fountain pools and caught sight of the familiar commander.

Squall made a phone signal with his fingers, drawing a nod from Irvine, who took out his mobile phone and activated it. Within seconds, it began to ring as Squall now began his trek towards Zell's room.

"Squall?" The cowboy turned and leaned with one elbow on the railing.

"Irvine, we have a mission in Galbadia." Squall's tone was all business-like.

Irvine raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Since now. The Headmaster just picked up an assignment from the authorities there. They're only requesting a few of us."

"What's the mission?" Irvine was now curious.

"I'll tell you up on the flight deck with Nida and the others."

"Who else is coming?" Irvine figured that the entire gang probably wouldn't be involved and he was right.

"Me, you, Selphie and I'm trying to get a hold of Zell. I don't think we'll need anyone else at the moment. Meet me at the flight deck." With that, the phone conversation ended.

Irvine shut off his phone and clenched his eyes shut for a moment. Selphie was going to come and he wished she wasn't. In the past couple of weeks, he was beginning to grow irritated of her presence and she was the last person he wished to tag along on the currently unknown mission.

He began towards the elevator, for the flight deck, hoping he would be able to avoid the spunky brunette for the majority of the mission. He just did not feel like putting up with her at the moment.

Irvine smiled faintlyas he entered the elevator. Perhaps this mission would be a much needed distraction from the everyday events of his mundane life at the moment. He couldn't believe the last time he was actually looking forward to something other than women.

* * *

Squall knocked on Zell's door for the third time, still not receiving any form of answer. He hadn't seen the blonde haired warrior in quite some time and although he would not admit it, was somewhat beginning to worry about his friend, although he would not admit that part either.

"Zell!" He yelled, pressing himself up to the door. "It's Squall. If you're in there, open up please." He waited for a moment before adding, "It's urgent."

He heard the clicking of the door and waited for it to open. When it didn't, he slowly pushed the door and made his way in cautiously. He was greeted by the absence of light as he noticed that all the blinds hadn't been drawn.

"Zell?" Squall called out, searching for him.

"I'm right here." Came the soft voice of the usually energetic man in the corner of a shadow.

Squall turned and met the slowly emerging figure of the martial artist. Zell stealthily approached him and stood his ground, his head cast down as he stared at Squall's feet. Squall was somewhat confused with all of this as his eyes quickly scanned what he could see of Zell's face.

Opting not to ask what the problem was, seeing as how it was out of his character, Squall got right to the point. "Zell we have a mission."

The shorter man grunted and finally lifted his head up, a rarely seen frown spread across his face. "And you want me to go?"

That was it. No questions pertaining to the mission, or any of the common questions that came from Zell when anything new came up. Next to Selphie, Zell was the one who liked to talk the most in the group, often asking question after question when it came to practically anything.

Today however, it just did not appear as if the young man had any energy or life in him to carry on with that.

Squall nodded once, his grey eyes sparkling magnificently in the dim light, giving them an eerie look. "I'm asking you, Selphie and Irvine to come along. I don't think it'll be that big of a deal but just in case."

Zell nodded, his eyes cast down on the floor once again, his facial appearance taking on a depressed but thoughtful look. "Where and when?"

Squall was truly perplexed and was now more inclined to ask what was wrong than ever. However, he held his tongue at the moment, realizing they were already running late. "Meet me up on the flight deck with Nida and the others, we'll get all the information up there."

Again, all he received was a simple nod from Zell. Squall turned around unsurely and headed back towards the door once again. He turned one final time, casting another glance at Zell, who now began to slowly walk around his room in search of something. "You coming?" Squall asked him.

Zell turned around, his frown slightly dissipating. "I'll see you up there."

Squall shut the door and headed towards the elevator, frowning. He began to feel a bad vibe coming from this day.

* * *

For Tidus it was easy: move out of the way and avoid the blockade of police cruisers up the road ahead or end up slamming into the pile and become as flat as the side of his sword. He looked in the side mirror and could see the two silver haired men on motorcycles a distance away, still relentless in their pursuit.

"Derek!" He shouted to the man above the sunroof. "I have to stop!"

Derek stopped firing and turned around, taking in the sight of the police cruisers cutting off the entire street ahead. They were lined up, with officers positioned behind the cars, armed and ready to fire. They were fast approaching and it wasn't until now that he realized just how fast they had been going, his surroundings seemingly turning into a blur and cascade of blending images.

'Shit.' He immediately felt Tidus begin to brake in extremely sporadic fashion as the man inside the car tapped the brake and released, continuing to do so as the car began to rock from the constant change in speed.

"Kid, cut it out!" They were nearing the blockade.

Tidus had no choice but to stop the speeding car completely from colliding into the wall of vehicles ahead. "Get out!" He shouted up above.

"What?" Derek responded, baffled.

Then, without warning, he felt the car swerve sharply to the left, still continuing to skid in a forward direction as the brakes were applied full on. He smashed the side of his torso against the side of the sunroof, partially cutting off his air supply as he nearly dropped the assault rifle.

Derek grit his teeth together as he jumped out of the sunroof of the car, sliding on the rear of the car and falling hard on the floor, immediately beginning to roll around the hard asphalt as the momentum of his body continued to carry him in the same direction as the car.

As his world turned in front of his eyes at a dizzying, continuous rate, he saw the blood, his blood, being smeared all over the pavement as he continued to roll and roll. The sound of two heavy bike engines seemed to be catching up to him. He felt weak and extremely fatigued as the ground continued to rough him up. It would have been tempting just to shut his eyes and give in to the exhaustion.

Inside the car, Tidus desperately swerved the steering wheel in every which way as the car made circles, finally showing signs of slowing down. He stole a look at the rolling Derek, who was moving in his direction. Then Tidus' light blue eyes caught sight of the fast approaching silver haired duo.

"Derek!" He shouted out through the side, hoping for the orange haired man to miraculously be alive. He began to feel disoriented and dizzy from all the spinning.

Derek, amidst all the spinning, heard the shout of his name and his reflexes immediately kicked in once more with his neural functions on full alert. The chemical reaction in his body worked its way around, combining with the Jenova cells and the mako coursing through his veins.

With astonishing speed, he shot up into a sitting position as he continued to slide on the ground, well feeling the burn of the asphalt on the rear of his thick pants. He was thankful that his pants were leather however, producing less friction than he cared to have.

His teeth were clenched as his eyes locked onto those of Yazoo, who sped forward along with Loz to his left, coming straight at him. They sandwiched Derek in as they slowed down to match his speed.

Yazoo began to open fire, blasting away as Derek happily returned the favor. Loz turned to the right, coming in with the intent of running the orange haired man over. Derek immediately fell back down on the floor and increased his friction, reducing his speed greatly as the two men shot forward, being forced to brake.

Yazoo spun around, while Loz simply stood up on his motorbike and jumped off at the last second as it sped towards the now stationary car Tidus was in.

"Don't open fire! Hold your fire!" An officer in charge of the unit shouted as all the men stared at the scene ahead of them in fear and panic, keeping their arms at bay.

Tidus groaned and held his side in pain, clenching his eyes shut tightly from the dizziness. His warrior instincts kicked in as his eyes shot wide open, giving him enough time to jump out of the car and grab his sword as he sensed the presence of incoming danger.

The metallic machine slammed with fair velocity, into the car, warping the metal of the cruiser and sending it across the asphalt several feet before coming to a stop.

To Tidus' amazement, the bike itself, remained in fine condition. The blonde haired teen turned around angrily and dashed forward at Yazoo, who carefully walked towards the now motionless Derek, lying face down on the floor with a trail of blood behind him.

"Yazoo!" It was Loz, warning his brother of the approaching Tidus.

The long silver haired man pulled out the Velvet Nightmare and fired several shots at Tidus, who deflected them with the broad side of his sword. His eyes burned with determination.

He closed the gap between him and Yazoo and was about to swing his sword, ready to strike, when out of nowhere, a bright flash of white light appeared to his right and then in front, manifesting into Loz, who sported a sick and twisted smile on his face.

"Surprise." He stated calmly as he threw a quick and heavy fist with his Dual Hound, directly into Tidus' gut, sending him flying back through the air and on top of the car, causing the entire metal roof to cave in.

Tidus coughed out blood once in a large heap and wiped his mouth with his left hand, his right still somehow clutching on to the sword. He slowly rolled off the top of the car and fell onto the floor, clutching his abdomen as he helplessly watched up ahead, the two brothers walk right up to Derek, who continued to remain still.

From behind the car, the officers readied their weapons, preparing to fire, as they observed the scene ahead with great fascination.

"Not yet!" The captain yelled, waiting for the arrival of the requested Seed reinforcements. He felt obligated to do something at the moment, with the two odd looking silver haired men towering over a helpless orange haired individual. He had been ordered to wait however, and since none of his officers seemed to be current targets of the unknown terrorists, he remained still.

Up ahead, Yazoo stopped just a foot short of Derek's head as Loz approached from the side. "Knocked out already?" Loz asked with a booming voice.

"SOLDIER 1st Class?" Yazoo mocked, cocking his head to the side. "Hardly." Loz chuckled.

Tidus stared helplessly at the only ally he had come across in this unknown region and cursed himself for failing as a warrior to stop these maniacs. Mustering his strength, Tidus stood up painfully, gripping his sword tightly.

A sudden thunderous sound exploded all throughout the air as the wind picked up heavily and the glass on the high rise buildings trembled.

Everyone looked up at the same time as a magnificent, red combat ship flew at low altitude over the streets at high velocity, picking up newspapers everywhere from the gust of wind it carried along with it.

The captain breathed out in relief, recognizing the Ragnorak as it slowed its speed and hovered over them, behind the blockade, igniting its thrusters as it slowly descended onto the ground.

Tidus, covered behind the car, peered from the side at the loud ship that had just landed, wondering who would possibly emerge from within.

Loz and Yazoo, momentarily caught off guard at the entrance of the great vehicle, exchanged glances with one another before letting their gaze fall back on the unconscious Derek once more.

"Loz." Yazoo instructed.

The older man nodded once, picking up the unconscious man off the floor with one hand and throwing him onto his shoulder.

His brother reloaded his weapon, and fully ignoring Tidus, looked past the blockade of police cruisers as he awaited what was to come out of the ship, fully anticipating another upcoming battle to erupt in those very streets.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Well, as I wrote in my other story, I really have no excuses as to why this story has gone so long without a single update these past months. Most of you have probably forgotten about this by now and I can't blame you. I apologize for the lengthy delay but in all honesty, at one point, I wasn't sure if I would ever continue with any of my stories period, due to certain events in my life. I've decided to rededicate myself to finishing them because it's not just something I owe readers whoI leave hanging by not completing a piece of work, it's also because I owe myself the satisfaction of knowing that I can focus on a task at hand and reach the endpoint. Thank you for your patience, for any of you who've stayed.**


	7. Trinity of Hope

**Trinity of Hope**

* * *

****

Squall stepped out of the Ragnorak, to be met with the solemn faces of the Galbadian police force. Up ahead, just past the barrier of police cruisers, Squall knew that chaos awaited him and he was anxious to embrace it. He looked up briefly at the grey sky, painting a bleak outcome over the entire city, perhaps a sign of things to come.

He approached the authoritative figure of the force, having identified himself, as Irvine came out next, with a grim expression on his face, followed by a cautious looking Zell who appeared as if he hadn't slept for days, dark circles forming under his eyes.

"Commander Leonhart." The Captain acknowledged him. "We can't tell you how relieved we are for you and your team to be here."

"What's going on right now?" Squall questioned, trying to peer past the blockade to get a good sighting of the men. Irvine and Zell both approached to his right side, waiting patiently.

"Well we blocked them off here and they're just up past the cruisers." The Captain explained, slight fear swirling in his eyes. "I have to warn you fellas, the magic they've used rivals even your own. I mean are they former Seed or something?" His eyes darted back and forth between the three men.

Irvine spoke up, his brows furrowed in complexion. "We ran a check on the Ragnorak and there was nothing. No records of anyone resembling them or anything. You guys haven't identified them have you?" He gazed ahead as well, trying to see past the cars.

"If we had, we wouldn't be asking you sir." The Captain turned back, the fear becoming more evident as he stood stiff. "There's one more but we can't find him. I think he was the one who knocked down the helicopter just a few minutes earlier."

Squall frowned and stared at the man unsurely. "How did he do that?"

"I'm no expert in magic Commander but it looked like a shot of ultima."

The three men immediately exchanged uncomfortable glances with one another as a few short seconds of silence passed by, the Captain waiting for their orders. Squall took out his phone and dialed a number quickly.

"Squall?" Selphie's cheerful voice cut through, contradicting the mood.

"Selphie stay on the ship no matter what and wait for us. Under no circumstances are you to leave and engage the enemy. Just have it ready for flight."

"You got it Squall." With that, the Commander terminated the call as he glanced over at his comrades pensively. His eyes fell to the floor and remained unblinking for a short while as he had the inclination that something would go awry.

"Sir!" An officer taking cover behind a cruiser spoke up. The Captain turned towards him. "The silver haired men are moving and they're carrying the orange haired one. I think the one with the blonde hair is hidden up ahead of that cruiser."

Squall looked up and immediately moved forward at a brisk pace, Irvine and Zell following suit. "Captain, will the Galbadian military be arriving?"

"Yes sir, they promised shortly."

"Good, I want you to evacuate the entire grid in this section and that includes you and your men."

The Captain stared at him dumbfounded. "What? Sir, with all due respect, our job is to-"

"Your job is to protect these civilians and you aren't going to be helping very much or be of use if your men start dying." The severity of the situation gradually began to sink into Squall's mind. Perhaps he had underestimated the problem earlier but there was only one way to find out.

"Sir, I don't believe this is a good idea. We can provide you and your men with support." The Captain was adamant about staying.

"Tell me," Squall began, his patience thinning slightly, "are any of the personnel on your squad experienced in magic?"

The Captain hung his head in defeat and sighed heavily, looking up as he scratched his light beard in thought. "If it gets out of control before the military arrives, we'll be coming back."

Squall shook his head, unwavering as his steely eyes bore into the other man. "No, otherwise you'll put the civilians at risk and you'll just set us back. You have to act now and evacuate the area because we're not sure of their firepower."

"Captain please." Irvine interjected, reassuring the authoritative figure that it was the best plan of action.

"Fuck." The Captain cursed under his breath and turned sharply, giving hand signals to his lieutenant. "Evacuate grid! Evacuate grid now! All officers, evacuate grid." With a hesitant nod to the group, he began to fall back.

The lieutenant followed suit and began shouting into the megaphone, ordering the hesitant officers to leave their stations and fall back. The men withdrew, some more reluctant than others while some seemed visually glad to be abandoning the vicinity of the area.

Tidus heard the orders for the men to retreat and couldn't believe it. 'Idiots!' He thought with disdain as he attempted to get up, now clutching the lower portion of his back in pain. The pain was constricting, as if someone had contracted the muscles within, not allowing him to move with ease.

Loz and Yazoo watched in amusement, as the officers up ahead began to scramble away loudly, shouting to one another while departing. The two brothers exchanged faint smiles as they took a glance at Tidus. Yazoo began to head back towards his bike while Loz strode ahead, to dig his out of the car, with Derek still draped over his shoulder. His heavy footsteps produced soft but deep thuds across the pavement as he moved.

Squall squeezed through the blockade of cars as Irvine and Zell followed suit. He studied the scene in front of him for a moment, calculating the area he had to work with and all the parties involved. The first person, or people, he spotted were a large short silver haired man with another draped overtop his shoulder. The man appeared large in stature, with a muscular frame and donned a heavy duty looking leather outfit that clung onto him tightly.

Zell, having been quiet for the duration of the ride, spoke up. "Is he carrying someone?" He already had his fighting gloves on, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"That one's the orange haired man I guess." Squall replied, his gaze fixed on Loz as he drew his Lionhart gunblade, the blue metal giving off a mesmerizing faint glow around its dull surroundings. To the distance, he saw a thinner silver haired man approach a very strange looking bike. "There's the second one." He noted, nodding ahead as Irvine and Zell followed his gaze. "The third one is still out there."

"What about the other two?" Irvine drew out his Exeter, restocking it with ammunition, the grim expression still on his face. To see the often easy going cowboy looking like this was a strange sight for both Zell and Squall.

Squall began to move forward, closing the gap between them and the police cruiser, Loz doing the same. "The blonde one should be up ahead." His blood began to race as the excitement raced through him.

"Do we engage?" Irvine asked.

"Treat them all as hostiles but engage only those who engage us first and are a bigger threat."

Up ahead, Tidus braced himself as Loz calmly approached, seemingly not paying attention to him. "What are you going to do with him!" Tidus yelled, clutching his sword painfully with both hands once more as he dismissed the sharp pain to his side and lower back.

Loz continued to ignore him as he closed the distance, not noticing the three Seeds moving towards him past the car. Tidus snarled and lunged at Loz, who immediately threw Derek down on the floor and activated his Dual Hound, effectively blocking a strike from the Brotherhood, as the two men locked weapons. Tidus began to shake lightly, his arms trembling from the strain being exerted as Loz held his position and pushed towards him, seeming completely calm, not even breaking a sweat.

He glanced into the cerulean eyes of the blonde warrior and smiled condescendingly. "Fly." He whispered chillingly.

Tidus didn't understand for a moment before he felt Loz relax himself, lifting the strain. Before he could even cry out a single word, the silver haired man drew back his fist and shot it forward, bringing about great momentum and landing it straight into the Brotherhood that just moved to block Tidus' chest, absorbing the impact of the shock.

And so, for a second time, the young man was airborne as Squall and the others watched him fly in the air to the side and land hard on the pavement, rolling around a few times before coming still, his sword laying several feet to his side as it clattered to the ground.

Squall's brow furrowed and he looked straight into the eyes of Loz, who noticed the Seeds for the first time. He smirked and turned to look back at his brother, who was seated on his bike, awaiting him. Yazoo glanced ahead and noticed the Seeds as well. Growling in anger, he reluctantly got off the machine as he slowly strode forward, Velvet Nightmare in hand.

"Squall, I'm taking the point." Irvine's comment came from his right.

The brunette nodded. "Zell, wait for my signal."

He saw Irvine raise the Exeter and pause as he caught sight of Yazoo. "The second one is coming."

Squall nodded and wasted no time, rushing forward, now only a few meters away from the car and Loz, who began to walk around the car, rubbing his wrists as he held a frown of impatience. The Seed Commander immediately sheathed his gunblade and shot both hands forward, placing the palm of one behind the other as he concentrated.

He took in a sharp breath of air and waited to feel the emergence of any magic extract itself from Loz and shoot towards him. A few brief seconds passed and nothing happened. Squall tried again, concentrating once more as he attempted to draw any powers from the broad man.

"What the hell…?" He breathed out inaudibly, unable to understand what was wrong. Loz stopped and smirked, cocking his head to the side, confused as to what Squall was doing.

Zell attempted to draw magic from the man as well but failed. He shot Squall a confused glance, who in turn, looked at Irvine.

The auburn haired gunman shrugged and turned to Loz. "We're Seed Special Forces and will ask you to stop and surrender or we'll engage!"

Loz stared at Irvine as if he were joking. After a brief moments silence, he extended his right arm, beckoning for him. "Let's play."

Irvine grinned and looked at Squall. Turning back, he reciprocated, "Okay, let's play." With that, he fired a single shot from his Exeter as it sailed towards Loz.

The silver haired man reacted with shocking reflex as his left arm became a blur, brushing past the bullet itself. He stopped and extended his hand forward, opening his palm to reveal the bullet before dropping it to the floor, a smile etched across his face.

Irvine's smile disappeared slowly as he comprehended what had happened. He turned to look at Squall and Zell, who in turn, both glared at him with wide eyes. "I think we're fucked."

Squall found nothing to be amused about as he rushed forward, drawing the Lionhart and engaged Loz. Zell was keeping step with him, lunging at Loz from his left. Irvine circled to the right more to gain a better vantage point as he eyed Yazoo.

"Irvine!" Squall shouted just before striking Loz. "You take the other!"

Loz disappeared in a flash of white light as Squall smashed his gunblade down on the pavement where Loz existed mere seconds ago. He looked around, his eyes frantically scanning the area, his mind unable to understand what had just happened.

"Squall!" Zell warned. It was enough time for the gunblade wielder to jump out of the way as Loz brought his fist down hard, producing fissures in the pavement.

Zell flew forward and began to throw a series of combos consisting of a wide array of roundhouse kicks, sweep kicks and jabs, all flowing smoothly. Loz fell back as he countered every strike effortlessly, his hands moving at a stunning pace. He brought his right hand up and immediately halted a left punch from Zell, tightening his grip over the younger man's fist. Without turning his head, he brought up his left arm, effectively blocking a side strike from Squall's gunblade with his Dual Hound as sparks flew, the two weapons colliding together.

Squall heard Zell groan in pain as the silver haired man tightened his grip over his fist. Squall pulled back and launched another powerful blow, this time to Loz's head. He dodged the attack but gave Zell enough time to throw a right fist at his own enclosed fist, releasing Zell's left hand.

Squall continued to go on the offensive, unleashing a barrage of strikes as he moved faster and faster, his hands operating at a dizzying rate. Loz parried each and every strike as he began to move at Squall's speed, and then beyond, becoming a blur once more as he stopped falling back, and began to counter and press against Squall's advances, forcing the Commander to go on the defensive.

Squall was stunned at the power and speed displayed by his opponent. He concentrated and tuned everything else out as he grit his teeth and focused on training his eyes to catch all of the large man's attacks. All noise around him ceased as his mind only worked to intercept the intended strikes from Loz. It was proving to be more and more difficult as he began to lose track of each movement. Sparks continued to fly from the extraordinary force of the metals clashing together as Squall's hands began to surprisingly feel numbing pain from the severity of the blows, as if he were attempting to block falling boulders with his blade.

Zell jumped at the blur that was Loz and his hands began to gain speed as he threw kicks in as well, causing the silver haired man to redirect his energy at Zell, giving Squall enough time to pull out for a moment for a quick breath. He turned and looked at Irvine, who had his gun steadily locked on the stationary Yazoo.

"Drop your weapon now!" Irvine shouted across to Yazoo, whose Velvet Nightmare pointed down as he clutched it with his left hand. He briskly moved forward for a moment and Irvine didn't hesitate to fire. The loud sound of the bullet bouncing off the side of the Velvet Nightmare escaped as Irvine stared in wonder. "Are all these guys bulletproof or something?" He cried.

Squall wasted no time and shot forward, racing at Yazoo, leaving Zell all alone to fend against Loz, who was pushing him back more and more, gaining ground on him. Squall slid over the hood of the car and extended his blade at Yazoo, who waited until the last second before shielding himself with the blade of his Velvet Nightmare.

The two became locked in a struggle as Squall's shocked eyes stared into Yazoo's aqua orbs. Squall couldn't believe that this man was wielding a gunblade as well, his face only a mere inches from the other.

Finally, Yazoo spoke in a calm deep voice that sent chills throughout Squall while straining against him. "It seems that you carry a variation of my weapon. I didn't think any existed. How intriguing." With that, he pushed Squall away as he brushed himself off before raising his weapon to block two of Irvine's incoming shots.

"Fuck." The cowboy swore, unable to catch the silver haired man off guard. He took aim and fired another shot, Yazoo doing the same. The two bullets ricocheted off each other, producing an odd crack of noise as they deflected off into the streets. 'There's something you don't see everyday.' The cowboy thought in disbelief.

Squall noticed Zell frantically fighting for his life as he performed several side somersaults and back flips, evading Loz's lethal punches. "Irvine, help Zell!" He growled.

The cowboy turned and waited until Zell fell a distance away from the large man before firing several bullets. Loz turned into a twirling whirlwind of white light as he deflected the bullets outwards once more, some nearly hitting Zell.

"Irvine watch it!" The blond fist fighter shouted angrily, just barely jumping out of the way as Loz's fist produced yet another crack in the ground from a missed blow. Zell stared in disbelief at the older man. "Holy shit, what are you?"

"Jenova." Came the reply before he engaged the Seed once more. Zell could barely keep pace, his hands moving furiously and as fast as he could dictate to block the onslaught of lefts and rights from Loz. His arms were experiencing pain and would surely become bruised from all of this.

With an angry cry, he unleashed a powerful right roundhouse kick at Loz in an attempt to hold him back for a moment.

The older man anticipated the kick and shot out the Dual Hound, drawing a short shout of pain from the young fighter as the side of his foot connected with the dense metal material. Loz charged up his weapon quickly, sparks emitting as he rammed it straight into Zell's gut, and launched him straight into the side of the already damaged police cruiser.

Zell smashed the intact door with great force, causing it to bend inwards as he fell and coughed out blood, his eyes shut tightly in pain.

"Zell!" Irvine cried out, firing ruthlessly at Loz, who sped up towards Irvine. The red haired cowboy barely had time to react as a bright blue blade appeared in between him and Loz, effectively halting the deadly fist intended for Irvine's insides. The blade immediately flew off to the side from the momentum of the strike. Irvine turned quickly and caught the face of the blonde haired warrior for the first time, his face scratched up and bleeding as his eyes contained hatred and animosity.

Loz stopped, the trail of white light disappearing from behind as he turned to Tidus. "You simple fuck." He snarled, the first signs of anger Irvine had seen. "You're as much a pain as brother." With that, he grabbed the blonde man by the collar of his strange shirt and flung him at the car as if he were a doll. Tidus slid over the roof and landed behind, spitting out more blood and tearing himself up further.

Irvine had distanced himself from Loz further and fired several times at the man while sliding over the car for cover. Loz ran at him, this time with human speed as the gunman observed Zell quickly and charged up a fireball of his own. Though he wasn't a great magic user, the damage he could deal was respectable, especially when it came to heat. Irvine unleashed the basketball sized fireball at the unsuspecting Loz, along with all of his anger packed into it.

The silver haired man saw the fast blazing ball of fire target him and brought both arms out into a cross, absorbing the intense heat as he grit his teeth together. He shook his hands in the air to rid himself of the slight burn and gazed irritably at Irvine, who was crouched near Zell as he looked up and took aim, firing at Loz again.

Squall was in a heated battle with Yazoo, having been unable to hit the gunblader even once. He kept the distance between them close in order not to let the long silver haired dueler fire any of his ammunition. Yazoo moved with amazing fluidness and speed, although it still paled in comparison to his larger brother.

To Squall, Yazoo almost seemed to be dancing around, as he evaded and parried any of Squall's combination of strikes. When he struck from the low left, Yazoo would spin to the left as well, almost coming into the strike but pulling back and twirling around it before he let off a thunderous shot from his Velvet Nightmare that was barely dodged in time. When Squall threw an upward swipe of his Lionhart, in an attempt to hit the man from the bottom, Yazoo would respond by using the momentum of the swing in his favor and hooking his own blade with Squall's, shooting it up and leaving the Commander vulnerable. It was all he could do to recover and block a blow. Squall saw that his opponent had great confidence in his own fighting abilities, almost turning his game of evasion into an art.

Squall flew back for a moment after an unsuccessful swipe from Yazoo and brought out his hands again, attempting to draw any magic from him. Once again, no reaction took place as Yazoo jumped at Squall. Squall brought out his Lionhart, thrusting it forward as Yazoo descended. The silver haired man looked completely calm as he brought the flat side of his blade to stop the piercing attempt and extended his left foot as he kicked Squall straight in the stomach, sending him lurching back.

Squall regained his balance but the hairs on the end of his neck stood up and trusting his instinct, immediately dove out of the way as a double bladed sword came down hard, hitting the floor with deadly speed. The Commander rolled to his side and knelt on one foot as he looked ahead with a frown, spotting a third silver haired man, this one seeming far younger than the other two, with hair similar in length to his own.

Kadaj stood up slowly, the Double Death katana clutched tightly in his left hand as he observed Squall, Yazoo stepping up next to his brother, smirking.

"Leave, and you and your men won't suffer any consequences." Kadaj let out. His voice was slightly higher than his brother's but had a chilling tone to it as well. An extremely dark aura seemed to resonate about him as the air slightly dipped in temperature, Squall taking notice.

"Our job is to neutralize threats and you're a threat at the moment." Squall shot back, his eyes narrowed as he stood up, bracing himself.

"That may be your job but you stand no chance here." Kadaj stated, beginning to walk around Squall as he studied him attentively, his brother remaining still with the Velvet Nightmare pointing to the floor once more.

Squall turned for a second and glanced back at the others to notice Zell laying on the floor bleeding and Irvine running away and firing desperately at Loz. He turned back around locked eyes with the glowing aqua ones of Kadaj. "What do you want?" He raised his gunblade in defense as Kadaj slung his katana over his shoulder.

"We just need to take brother and we'll be on our way. There's no intention of fighting with you."

Squall stared at the silver haired man in disbelief but found no indication of a lie in his words. "Who is brother?" He asked, half not wanting to find the answer to the question, yet suspecting it was the orange haired man since he had been carried earlier prior to their interference.

"That's none of your concern." Kadaj replied icily, his eerily glowing eyes narrowing into threatening slits.

"Yeah? Well I'm making it my business." Squall pulled the trigger to his gunblade and fired at Kadaj, who deflected the bullet with a one handed swing of his blade.

Squall lunged forward and Kadaj did the same, with Yazoo firing one quick shot before the two collided. Squall twirled around the shot as his blade fiercely met with that of the young silver haired man, whose eyes were partially hidden behind his straight silver hair. Yazoo withdrew his weapon as watched in amusement.

Squall rooted his feet into the floor, hoping not to be pushed back but failed as Kadaj exerted himself forward, knocking Squall back and taking several quick swings at him. Squall parried the attacks but was knocked back further from each blow. His young opponent packed quite the power just as the other two did. The sound of metal against metal continued to emit as Squall took the defensive and began to be pushed back further, Kadaj stopping from time to time, studying the Commander.

"Just leave." Kadaj warned again, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice.

Squall's expression was grim and stoic as he beckoned for Kadaj to engage him with his palm. "Come and do it then."

Irvine watched for moment as the short silver haired man threw Squall a furious array of slashes to block as the longer haired man stood by and watched, seemingly bored. 'Sick fucks.' He thought before redirecting his attention back to Loz, who calmly walked up to him as Irvine began to reload his weapon and charged another fireball.

He waited longer this time, until Loz was fairly close before releasing the intense buildup of heat in his palm at a furious pace towards its target. The fireball connected with the extended Dual Hound, knocking Loz back a foot as he glared up furiously towards Irvine.

Tidus rolled over the floor and stood up, Irvine to his right and not seeming to notice him. He groaned for a second, causing the cowboy to stare in his direction for a moment, their eyes meeting for the first time. The blonde haired warrior rushed forward towards his weapon and Loz anticipated this, racing towards his destination as well, charging up his Dual Hound once more.

Irvine fired several shots at Loz, who turned into the familiar flash of white light once more to close the lengthy distance he had to reach Tidus. The blonde swordsman picked up his familiar weapon and had only a brief second to react, checking his far right as Loz's fist came at him. Tidus grimaced and shut his eyes, ready for the eventual numbing pain about to be felt from another one of his opponent's blows.

The blow came, but it didn't seem to hit him dead on as he was knocked several feet to the side, his feet never leaving the ground however.

Zell had intercepted the strike, punching Loz's fist to the side of Tidus' abdomen, reducing the damage and proceeded to head butt the larger man. Loz fell back only for a brief moment and turned to Zell, grabbing both the fighter's fists in each of his palms as he began exert force.

Zell's eyes widened considerably before shutting as he let out a long groan of pain, dropping to his knees weakly as Loz continued to slowly crush his fists. "Irvine…" Zell yelled painfully, beginning to black out, having already lost blood from the earlier blow.

The cowboy stood up and aimed perfectly, straight at Loz's head, releasing a well placed shot. Loz released Zell quickly and dodged the bullet with blazing movement. Irvine expected him doing so but had succeeded in freeing Zell. He began to fire once more as Loz let out a cry of anger and ran at Irvine, speeding from side to side in a white blur of light evading the shots as the cowboy began to take off, away from him.

Tidus coughed some more blood out, the iron taste becoming all too familiar inside his mouth and searched for his sword. He noticed a brunette haired warrior to the distance struggling against the young silver haired man he had seen on the streets earlier. His eyes fell upon the Brotherhood and he dragged himself toward it but stopped, staring in disbelief and surprise.

A gloved hand wrapped around the hilt of the bright blue sword, clutching it tightly as the weapon lifted off the ground. Bright glowing marine blue orbs stared straight at Tidus for moment.

Derek closed his eyes for a brief moment, a surge of energy rushing throughout his body as he experienced a familiar feeling and past memories come to him once more while clutching the melee weapon. It had been a long time since he had brandished one and the feel of it in his hand again brought renewed strength to his persona.

"I'm borrowing this." Came the quick shout from the orange haired man as he sped past Tidus, who stood gaping.

"Hey, that's my fucking sword asshole!"

Loz turned, sensing danger and was met with Tidus' familiar blade, only this time, it was brandished by, "Brother…" He spoke quietly, his face contorting into a grin once more as he held the blade off with his Dual Hound. Irvine fell back for a much needed breath of air from the running.

"Shut up you fucking prick." Came the nasty reply from the former SOLDIER, his eyes burning into the aqua ones of Loz.

"We were wondering when you'd come to. Having quite a party without you so far." Loz was eerily calm and collected.

"When do I have to stop repeating for you to shut the fuck up!" Derek yelled.

Loz grunted and pushed Derek off, the orange haired man sliding back with the blade producing sparks on the ground before coming to a halt. His fiery eyes held pure contempt when they met Loz's. Wasting no time, the large man charged up his Dual Hound and smashed it into the ground with unbelievable force, producing a seismic tremor that raced forward as it shook up its surroundings.

Derek had nothing to counter with and was in no shape or condition to power any materia. He somersaulted over the three foot high wave and was engaged by Loz before he was able to touch any ground. The burly man swung his Dual Hound at the blade, immediately knocking it out of Derek's hand as it flew in the air. The orange haired warrior landed and back flipped past an incoming punch, separating himself from Loz as he took several cautious steps back.

Tidus jumped in the air as the tremor died down and snatched his blade, executing his own somersault before landing behind Loz. The silver haired man smirked as Tidus unleashed a flurry of moves, all parried with ease. "Don't you learn your lesson boy?" He laughed at the younger man.

Derek ran to the other side of Loz, now effectively sandwiching him in as he began throwing his own series of punches as they were cast aside by the talented fighter, who began to move with more and more speed.

Tidus was determined to keep up as the movement of his hands increased, the blade itself creating multiple shades of itself as it flew through the air, sometimes connecting with the Dual Hound and emitting sparks, but most often than not it simply missed its target entirely as Loz moved with mind numbing speed.

Loz dodged a punch from Derek and swung around, catching the blunt side of Tidus' blade, swinging it towards the orange haired man, sending Tidus along with it, a look of surprise etched on his face as he flew across. Derek caught Tidus in time by the wrists and snatched the loose sword from his hand as he jumped to the opposite side of Loz, where Tidus had been moments earlier, effectively switching places with the blonde haired warrior.

Loz appeared genuinely surprised, not expecting the sudden move as Derek began to move faster, surpassing Tidus' previous attack speed. Loz's fists moved every which way as he took a rare defensive stance, his eyes concentrating on the movement of the flashing blue blade. The two men separated themselves from Tidus, who held his position as he watched in astonishment at the display of their combat skill.

A distance away, a worn out Squall turned around and began to make a run towards the car, Kadaj glaring at his retreating form as he stared with a ghost of a smile on his face. The entire fight, the Seed Commander had been on the defensive against the exceptionally talented swordsman.

"Irvine!" He called out, the cowboy now looking up from Zell's side, who was struggling to get up. "Irvine, hold them off!"

Time seemed to slow down for Kadaj, as he saw the cowboy stand up and empty several bullets from his weapon straight at him and Yazoo.

Yazoo evaded the bullets, twirling around and unleashing some of his own at Irvine, who ducked under the car as Squall, who was in the line of fire, moved out of the way while deflecting some with his gunblade. It was then that Yazoo noticed for the first time, his older brother engaged with Derek in a dizzying melee fight. Anger boiled up inside him as a feeling of pure hatred took over. He rushed ahead, brushing past Kadaj, entirely ignoring everyone else as he raced towards Derek, with every intent of finishing him off then and there.

The orange haired man, still concentrating solely on keeping pace with the powerful Loz, was completely oblivious to a fast approaching Yazoo, who had the blade of the Velvet Nightmare ready and aimed as he came in.

The frown on the silver haired gunblader disappeared, being replaced by a satisfied smirk as he closed within striking distance. The next moment was a complete surprise as he was sent off course and sprawling to the side from a powerful kick to the shoulder. Yazoo slid across the pavement, a look of anger taking over as he spotted his attacker.

Zell stood up from the kick and locked eyes with the mysterious man for a brief second before a warning cry reached his ears. "Zell, watch it!" He turned around just in time to see a blazing fast Kadaj swing his blade at his neck.

It was Squall's Lionhart that came in the way, multiple sparks bouncing everywhere as Kadaj took his furious eyes off Zell and laid them on a straining Squall next to him. "Didn't you get it the first time?" He snarled at Squall. "Stay out of what isn't your business." He drew his blade away and began to swing at Squall before more bullets came his way. Having no choice but to fall back, the projectiles from Irvine's gun ricocheted off the dual metal blades of the Double Death.

Irvine then turned and began to fire at Yazoo, who moved with ferocious agility and speed off the ground, as he rolled across the floor and exchanged fire with Irvine. One shot connected cleanly with the Exeter, knocking it free from the cowboy's grip, causing his arm to draw back from the impact. The Exeter flew behind the car and Irvine followed suit, diving behind as a line of bullets shot through the car, just barely missing their mark.

Tidus saw the others all tangled up and stole a quick glance at Derek, who quickly looked his way before jumping back several feet, going on the defensive against a furious Loz, who had begun overpowering him. Turning around and now noticing his chance, he raced for Yazoo's bike.

The orange haired man saw Tidus make a run for it out of the corner of his eye and front flipped over Loz, kicking him straight in the back and taking off in Tidus' direction.

"Yazoo!" Loz shouted, spotting Derek heading for the bike along with Tidus. He began to take off after the two men.

Yazoo stood up and let out a cry of fury as he opened fire on the retreating Derek. "Derek!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, anger permeating throughout his voice. He then noticed Irvine step out and fire at Yazoo once more, having recovered his weapon. This only served to infuriate the silver haired shooter more, as it caused him to draw his attention away from the man he hated most in order focus on Irvine.

Squall and Zell cautiously circled Kadaj, who turned to his older brother and then to the two retreating figures. A rush of anger and extreme impatience ran its course through his body as heat generated everywhere inside and then concentrated itself around his arm, engulfing it with energy. He focused as the familiar green glow began to emit from his arm, the air around him blowing wildly as it circled his arm. He turned and targeted Derek when at the last instant, Squall's blade shot at his neck.

Squall swung with all his might as Kadaj tilted his blade downwards, blocking Squall's horizontal slash with his vertical blade. Squall noticed the faint green glow disappear as Kadaj had lost his concentration from the interference.

"You fuck!" Kadaj screamed at him, sounding like a little child.

Squall drew back and put his free arm on Zell's chest, holding the blonde haired fighter back in caution, preventing him from lunging forward. "Zell you're injured, fall back now." He said quietly and quickly as Kadaj charged his hand once more, this time aiming for him. The sound of a powerful suction sound began to emit from his arm as a bright blue gaseous light circled around it.

"Squall-" Zell protested.

"Just go!" He shouted, as the anger rushed like a drug throughout his body, his mind filled with rage. Zell began to painfully pull back, heading towards the ship as Squall raised his left arm, a fireball manifesting though this one was much larger and far more intense than Irvine's.

Kadaj unleashed the matra magic from his hand as bright blue orbs of light danced feverishly in the air and shot straight at Squall, traveling in curving paths as they spread out and then came together, converging towards the brunette Seed leader. Squall had the fireball about three times the size of a basketball as it circled around his palm. He clenched his teeth in pain as the heat was becoming more intense and the ball of energy was becoming more unstable by the second.

Squall was sweating profusely and began to feel lightheaded from the energy buildup. The swirling sphere of fire was unleashed at the exact moment the blue balls of energy came together, just inches from the fireball itself. The collision of the two works of magic sent a thunderous noise throughout the air, rocking the area as Squall was knocked back from the close proximity of the blast and went sliding on his back across the ground before coming to a halt, producing wear on his jacket and pants.

Tidus approached the bike and threw a quick glance to the men at a distance as Derek came up to him with Loz closing in. The orange haired man had seen the fireball from Squall and a pain looked flashed across his face. He approached Tidus before he tossed him the Brotherhood and jumped on the bike without wasting time, kick starting it as the powerful engine roared to life.

"Get on!" He shouted to the confused Tidus, who jumped on the rear as Derek wasted no time taking off, practically making the younger man fly off before he clung on to the rider's shoulders for dear life and repositioned himself. The bike took off with great acceleration and a screech as rubber peeled off the tires from the friction of the asphalt.

Loz began to push his body to the limits as he picked up more and more speed while the bike accelerated, going in the opposite direction it had originally come, before taking a sharp right into a side street and racing down the now deserted lanes.

"He's still on our heels!" Tidus shouted over the piercing wind, his hair flapping across wildly. It then struck him that he was still carrying Derek's handgun. Twisting his torso around and with one hand clinging tightly to Derek's left shoulder, he drew the heavy weapon and began to fire the devastating bullets straight at Loz, who was caught by complete surprise.

He dodged the bullets he could and lost concentration of maintaining top speed as he ran to the side, several bullets just grazing past him, cutting through the air. He had to stop as several more incoming bullets shot at him, this time deflected through the speed of his arm as they bounced off the Dual Hound. The bike disappeared up the street as it grew smaller and smaller, leaving his sight.

Loz glared far ahead as the two men had escaped him and his brothers once more that day.

Yazoo stood up and had just about lost it, seeing Derek and Tidus both escape on his bike. He was angry at Loz for failing to catch up in time and for having been slowed down by mere bullets. He was angry at himself for failing to stop Derek when he had the chance but most of all, he was angry at the interference of the three young men proving to be thorns in the side.

Shooting a glance at the retreating Zell, who was limping to the ship, he bared his teeth as his left hand shot up towards him and began to shake violently. A spectrum of green hues emanated from his forearm as he ignored the intense buildup of the radiating heat and began to shake from his spot while attempting to control the increasing energy.

Zell was completely oblivious to what was about to transpire and continued slowly and painfully towards the bridge of the ship, now only a short distance of approximately thirty feet.

Irvine was the first to spot Yazoo's intentions and let out a shout of warning to Zell. "Zell, look out!" He yelled desperately at the top of his lungs as he jumped over the hood of the car and raced towards Yazoo.

Squall followed suit as he launched himself forward, attempting to stop Yazoo but was cut off as Kadaj jumped in the way, pointing his blade threateningly at him with a cruel smirk etched across his face, several feet separating them from one other.

From inside the cockpit of the Ragnorak, Selphie was frantically screaming at Xu and Cid through the transmitter link, requesting additional aid while they assured her that the Galbadian military would arrive shortly. She spotted Zell weakly making his way towards the ship and immediately caught sight of a brightly glowing man off to the distance.

Wasting no time, and directly disobeying Squall's orders, she activated the rail guns mounted on the ship and aimed at Yazoo, whose buildup of energy seemed to reach its limits. Without hesitation, she began to fire mercilessly as she unleashed a barrage of lethal bullets meant to pierce tanks and buildings with their high caliber.

Yazoo was caught off guard and was forced to release the powerful ultima blast towards the trajectory of the bullets. It swept through the heavy rain of projectiles and continued towards the ship, flying straight over Zell as Selphie's eyes grew wide open from the nearing intense light. She jumped straight from her chair and evacuated the cockpit just before the blast of magic collided with the front of the Ragnorak, producing a great and thunderous explosion, knocking Zell off his feet as all the air left his body immediately.

He was sent backwards, the light engulfing him, and fell hard on the pavement to his side, spitting out copious amounts of blood as he rolled around in a daze and in shock. He lifted his bloodied face up to stare at the ship with heavy eyes as he groaned in obvious pain. "Selphie…" He choked out, the blood spewing from his mouth before he blacked out, his head heavily falling to the pavement.

"SELPHIE!" Irvine was horrified and stood gazing at the intense flames up ahead, smoke swirling upwards towards the sky as the fire burned loudly, engulfing the front of the Ragnorak.

Squall's face was expressionless but inside, his heart was racing as he feared for Selphie and Zell's lives. He turned with wide eyes as they looked straight at Kadaj, who continued to house the same faint grin on his lips, the light of the fire making his eyes sparkle. Squall felt frozen in place, unable to move at the moment as the series of events weighed down on him.

Far ahead, Loz watched with satisfaction as the street lit up from the fantastic explosion.

Yazoo turned with a sardonic grin mounted as his eyes fell on Irvine. The cowboy dropped to his knees helplessly, letting his weapon fall the ground as he gazed up ahead, past Yazoo before closing his eyes with a pained look, tightly clutching his hair in exasperation. Yazoo glared at the fallen man, seeming to enjoy making his opponent suffer in ways other than physical pain.

Squall snapped out of his initial shock as an overwhelming feeling of anger took hold of him, his heart racing. He clutched his Lionhart with all his might and sped forward at Kadaj, a surge of power exploding from within. The silver haired man seemed to become excited at angering his opponent further.

Kadaj took a step back and readied his sword to strike but his eyes widened considerably as he jumped back with astonishing speed while a shower of bullets made their way to him. Squall stopped dead in his tracks, skidding for a moment and pulled back, the angry look being replaced by one of confusion as he turned around to spot the Galbadian military in their famous blue attire firing without mercy at the silver haired men.

Never in his entire life, had Squall imagined that the sight of them would be welcoming.

Yazoo spun around furiously as bullets made their way towards him as well, evading everything he could. He exchanged fire with several of the men, hitting some of the stationary soldiers straight on as they fell. He began to make a run for it towards Loz, who was the only one within safe distance. The bullets continued to miss as Yazoo moved expertly until he approached his older brother.

Both of them turned to glance briefly at Kadaj before entering an abandoned car, Loz in the driver's side as he began to hotwire it. "We're going to leave Kadaj?" He asked without looking up as the incoming bullets unsuccessfully made their way towards them from the distance.

"He'll be fine." Yazoo spoke silently, his mind elsewhere at the moment, contemplating the escape of the other two men moments earlier. A bullet smashed through the front windshield, speeding past his neck and out the other side of the car.

The car came to life and with one final glance at their brother, the two silver haired men took off down the opposite side of the street and towards the right, taking the path previously traveled by Derek and Tidus as they disappeared from view.

Kadaj moved his blade around himself in circles, creating a brilliant display of light as the bullets danced off his blades like tiny pebbles bouncing off concrete. Sensing that his two siblings had left, he knew that he was outmatched at the moment and didn't wish to put on a further scene, expending more energy than was necessary.

The young silver haired fighter let out a piercing sharp cry that hung over everyone hauntingly. A semi transparent white smoke rushed over his body and engulfed him, making him appear as if he were on fire. Squall, who had fallen back to escape the path of the bullets, managed to catch his opponent disappear in a wisp of smoke at the last second. The surprise and shock didn't have time to register as he turned and raced for the damaged Ragnorak, hoping that Zell and Selphie had beaten the odds and remained alive.

General Caraway pushed himself through a group of his men and came to stand out front as scanned the area, his angry eyes softening ever so slightly when they fell on a dejected looking Irvine and Squall, who was racing towards the Ragnorak at full speed.

He turned around, his face grim but his eyes wide open with emotion and faced his men, barking orders at a quick pace. "Get a medical team out here immediately and a fire and clean up crew! Place the entire city on high alert!" He gazed up at the grey sky and could see nothing but an endless gloomy blanket.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Damn, this chapter took a while. I really hope the action was satisfactory and quenched your thirst, if only for a while at least.**


	8. Withering Despair

**Withering Despair**

* * *

"Leonhart." Caraway weaved through the guards on the street hastily. "Leonhart!"

Squall ignored the now transcendent surroundings and raced up ahead at top speed, his legs aching and his chest burning up as if an inferno were raging inside his inner walls. The muscles were tensed as the fibers contracted, exerting great strain on the young SeeD Commander. Under any other circumstance, one would simply have collapsed from the exhaustion but he had to keep going. The burning Ragnorak was fast approaching and he spotted Zell, lying dreadfully still amidst the flames.

"Zell!" Squall shouted as he crouched beside the unconscious fighter, eyes slightly stricken with panic. "Zell!" Squall shook him roughly, trying to draw some form of sign of life but to no avail. There was blood. A lot of blood and it wasn't a good sign. Without waiting around any longer, the SeeD Commander hoisted his friend up and slung him over his shoulder as he trotted further away from the Ragnorak, leaving a trail of blood behind from Zell's sagging body.

A team of Galbadian guards rushed up immediately. "Sir, is anyone else alive in there?"

Squall was furious but hid his emotions to the best of his ability. "Get this man medical emergency immediately. I'm going back." He carefully but quickly slung Zell off his shoulder and onto a stretcher. Without even waiting around for a reply, he took off back towards the Ragnorak.

"Sir, wait! You can't go in there!" Squall paid no attention to the voice from behind as he circled around the Ragnorak and up to the hatch. To his luck, it was fully functional as he activated it open and jumped inside.

He had taken no more than two steps inside the ship when a familiar pair of green eyes and a yellow dress seemed to leap out at him from the darkness, enveloping him in a tight embrace.

"Squall! You're ok!" Selphie's high voice seemed to find comfort upon recognizing him.

The SeeD Commander stood in slight shock for a moment at the initiation of affectionate contact before he regained his composure. Slowly, he pried her hands free from the back of his neck. "Selphie, we have to get out of here now." His eyes were devoid of emotion but his voice contained a hint of concern.

The brunette female nodded and obliged, racing out from the hatch along with Squall as they pulled away from the ship and raced towards the front. There was a fire team equipping a powerful hose and preparing to extinguish the heavy flames on the face of the ship.

"Squall, where are Irvine and Zell? Are they ok?" Selphie's eyes glittered with emotion and worry as the flames reflected off her pupils. At that instant, she turned her neck to spot a dejected looking Irvine staring directly at her for a moment. As soon as their eyes met, he looked away immediately and began moving along with a paramedic staff that had Zell on a stretcher. "Oh my god!" Selphie screamed and raced at full speed towards the two men as Squall watched frozen, trying his best to suppress his racing emotions.

'Control Squall, control. Just breathe and don't think. Stop thinking!' He mentally shouted to himself. He felt a hand come down on his shoulder and grip it softly. Acting purely on soldier reflex, Squall shot the hand away and spun around, pulling out his Gunblade and aiming it towards

"General Caraway?" His fiery wide eyes retreated to their original size as he slowly sheathed his weapon.

"Easy there my boy." Caraway, who had his hands up in the air defensively, brought them down as his eyes remained locked on the SeeD Commander. "Are you all right?"

Squall breathed out audibly and ran a hand through his hair, surveying his surroundings before he spotted Selphie approach Irvine and Zell. "Will Zell be fine?"

"I'll have the best medical team treat him immediately, you have my word." The General stared sympathetically at him for a moment and Squall caught on.

"Thank you." He paused for a moment, his eyes never leaving the ambulance that was loading Zell on as Selphie stared on helplessly. "General I appreciate your concern but I don't need you to feel sorry for me or my men."

Caraway looked away consciously and nodded. "I understand. If you wish to be with your comrades at the moment, I'll leave you be."

"No." Squall appeared uncomfortable. "My comrades will be fine as you said. Therefore I have no need to worry about them." Squall mentally cursed, berating himself for lying and not calling them his friends when he should have. What was wrong with him? It was pre-Ultimecia Squall all over again and he hated himself for doing this.

Caraway noticed tension within the young man and opted to change the subject. "What happened anyways? Any idea as to who those men were Commander?"

Squall was secretly thankful to be talking about something else and immediately frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. He shook his head. "No." He looked down at his gloved hands as if reflecting on the entire fight scene. "They- they were unlike anything I've ever seen General." He gazed up sternly at the older man. "No one has ever trained warriors like that before. They can't be from here."

Caraway appeared deep in thought as his brows contorted. "So you wouldn't be able to personally ID any of them?"

"Absolutely not." Squall swiped his hand through the air. "I've never seen any of them before in my life or anyone that comes close." There was a brief silence as the two men stood side by side, watching the various crews perform their duties. "General?"

Caraway glanced over at the younger man. "Yes?"

Squall appeared to be contemplating as a mixture of thoughts danced through his head. "It's strange but you're aware of the magic they used."

"Yes. Fairly powerful stuff."

Nodding, Squall continued. "Well it's odd because we attempted to junction and siphon their abilities but it was as if we were attempting to draw from a rock. They move like lightning too, especially the silver haired men. I've never seen anything like it."

"Yes, about the silver haired men, they were opposed to the duo of the boy and the orange haired man correct?"

Squall thought about that for a moment as well. "I can't explain it but they appeared to be after the older man. Called him their brother."

At this, Caraway fully turned to face Squall with a curious expression. "What do you think?"

"I'm thinking that they're definitely not from around here especially considering their attire. Somewhere far away would be my guess but the exact location is anyone's guess. We… underestimated them." Squall gazed at Selphie who was attempting to converse with Irvine. The taller cowboy seemed to ignore her as he stood there motionless. "General." Squall nodded and walked off towards their direction.

Caraway stood there and took in his surroundings as he attempted to make sense of all of it. He couldn't even begin to comprehend just how correctly dead on Squall had been when it came to the origins of the mysterious men.

The SeeD leader approached a disgruntled looking Irvine and a panic stricken Selphie. "Are you two all right?" He voiced, practically emotionless.

Selphie broke her worried gaze away from Irvine and peered over at Squall. "Yeah… I'm okay I think. I'm just worried about Zell."

Squall nodded once. "We all are." His eyes shifted towards the taller SeeD gunman.

Irvine's miserable expression never faltered as his eyes remained glued to the back of the ambulance as the paramedic staff worked on Zell. There was blood everywhere and the sheets used to cover him were now stained crimson as well. The auburn haired sharpshooter felt numb and sick to the core at having failed. Failed at not being able to save a comrade in time of need.

The external voices were all a faint chorus of weak noises as Irvine's mind blocked the outside world. A storm was raging itself within as he felt more and more guilty, as well as incompetent, by the second. Closing his eyes, he attempted to soothe himself from all the carnage earlier. "Fuck…" He muttered before opening his eyes and shooting two quick glances at Squall and Selphie.

The often cheery brunette female, now housing a melancholy look, walked up towards Irvine. "Are you okay?" The sharpshooter grunted once in sadness before turning around and storming off. "Irvine! Where are you going?" Selphie screamed amidst all the noise from the surrounding people busy at work trying to clean up the scene. She began to race after him but a powerful hand gripped down on her shoulder, prompting her to look back.

Squall shook his head slightly, signaling for her to simply let him be for the moment. With her head now drooped and her shoulders slung forward, Selphie nodded weakly in acknowledgement, watching Irvine disappear through the crowd before heading over to a medical staff for a check up.

Irvine Kinneas was a man who simply needed to find himself at the moment and Squall knew better than anyone that often, it was the presence of your own company that led to the most significant internal healing.

* * *

"Who were those fools who interfered?" Yazoo looked down at his younger brother with disdain.

Kadaj scoffed and turned his back towards the taller man, staring out across the vast expanse of land in the open field, the city of Deling now a far distance away. Loz sat on top of the hood of the now banged up vehicle as a series of bullet holes decorated the exterior. The oldest brother looked on quietly as the setting sun cast a cascade of meshing vibrant colors throughout the darkening sky.

"Pathetic excuses for soldiers." Kadaj finally broke the serenity as he whipped around with a gleam in his glowing aqua eyes. "You two couldn't stop them? What were you doing?" His glittering orbs were filled with venomous rage.

"The SOLDIER and his stupid friend interfered." Yazoo spoke, now turning away and surveying the landscape. He shot Loz a quick look before glancing back at his younger brother. "And now he's gone."

"We'll find him." Loz irritably stated, his voice taking a low form of a growl.

"We will find him." Kadaj reiterated in a tone containing an utmost amount of confidence.

"Yes but it could take days at the rate he's traveling." Yazoo remarked.

"He has nowhere to go. Him and the fool think they have a plan. Who is that man anyways?" Kadaj asked.

Yazoo cocked his head to the side, shooting Loz a look. "Loz?"

The large man pushed himself off the hood of the car, its shocks sending it springing upwards. The heavy footsteps soon halted as he stood next to his two younger brothers. "Whoever he is, he's definitely the biggest pest I've met so far. Interfering in business that isn't his. Next time I'll crush and squeeze the juice straight out of his pretty little head."

Yazoo chuckled softly in amusement. "Now, now dear brother. Save your anger. You want to savor the moment don't you?"

Loz extended his arm out as the Dual Hound activated, an electrical charge circling throughout before the device retracted back towards his wrist. "I wasn't satisfied today. If your aim had been better then those weaklings that interfered wouldn't have gotten in my way with the young kid."

Yazoo unsheathed his Velvet Nightmare and pushed up towards a smirking Loz, who brought out the side of the Dual Hound, effectively blocking the powerful blow. "Don't test me Loz." Yazoo snarled through clenched teeth.

A double bladed sword sliced in between the close faces of the two, coming to rest at the level of their necks. "That's enough." Kadaj warned impatiently, prompting the two older brothers to pull away from one another. "Our focus is to find brother. We need him for the Reunion."

"And what about Mother?" Yazoo cut in. "We don't know the whereabouts of Strife. It could take weeks before we find him."

Kadaj smiled faintly, a maniacal expression manifesting over his face. "Strife is heading here. I can sense it. Can't you? He senses us as well. It's the essence of our brotherhood. We're all connected. He is tempted and drawn to us. With luck, he'll bring Mother."

Yazoo shook his head in question. "Mother isn't here. I don't feel her. Kadaj something's wrong. Earlier when Loz and I fought against brother-"

"Derek?" Kadaj interjected.

"Yes, him. After he escaped on the highway, I sensed a void. Her presence isn't with us." Yazoo turned to glare at Loz, studying him for a moment before his calculating eyes fixated back on the youngest of the three.

"No." Kadaj shook his head furiously, unwilling to believe it but knowing deep down that this was fact for he had been sensing the void as well.

"It's too late Kadaj."

"No!" The young silver haired man screamed hysterically, his eyes burning with passion and rage, the rest of his body venting with frustration. "Mother is here! She's here!"

Yazoo and Loz each watched silently as Kadaj unsheathed his blade once more and swung violently against the dirt on the ground, tearing up fair pieces and chunks of earth. Several minutes passed before he fell on his knees to the floor dejectedly, his head in his hands.

"It's too late. Mother is away. We need another means of forging the Reunion." Yazoo spoke silently after some time.

At first it wasn't too clear but as the tranquil calmness sank in once more, it became more evident. The sound became more evident. A small series of muffled sobs came from where the young kneeling warrior remained.

Loz stepped forward, a look of slight concern on his face. "Kadaj?"

Yazoo shot out his arm, halting the older man from proceeding any further. When Loz's face turned to meet his, he simply shook his head. "No."

The elder brother nodded solemnly once and stepped back as the youngest of the three continued to pour his emotions out into the coming night. The revelation that his mother was indeed out of their grasp began to slowly dawn on him.

* * *

"Squall. I don't want to go!" Selphie was furious, her body heaving violently from her continuous shouting. "I want to stay here until Zell gets better!"

Not even fazed in the least bit, the SeeD Commander continued staring bitingly at the short woman. "You can't do anything here. There's nothing here for you."

"But Squall, Irv-"

He cut her off abruptly. "That's none of your concern Selphie. As your superior officer, I'm ordering you to return back to Garden and give a full report to the Headmaster regarding the entire incident that transpired today."

Selphie glared at him in contempt. "How can you be so cold? He's your friend too." Her voice cracked at the last few words as several tears escaped, streaking down her cheeks.

Not wishing to display any more unnecessary weakness in front of Squall, she turned around and walked away hastily, exiting the hospital as the former 'lone wolf' gazed on.

* * *

The blackened sky was clear, paving the way for a dazzling array of sparkling stars that stretched all throughout the heavens.

Kadaj brought his head down and swung around, directly facing his two older brothers. He had composed himself and come to terms with the absence of his mother… for now.

They all knew that the lack of her presence would result in a much tougher path to the successful formation of the Reunion. It would prove to be difficult to reincarnate Sephiroth now but it wouldn't be impossible. It was still within their grasp. It was only a matter of working with the right tools and finding the right pieces to go along with them.

"We need both Strife and the orange haired prick. No exceptions." Kadaj paced around, his muscular shoulders moving up and down while doing so. "We need them both for an adequate supply of Jenova Cells."

"Yes." Yazoo stated, eyeing his younger brother sharply. "But we also need a catalyst."

"Then…" Kadaj stopped, looking straight into the faces of his brothers dangerously. "We'll need to find the source of the most powerful magic on this godforsaken planet."

"Source?" Loz spoke up for the first time in the past few minutes. "Are you talking about someone in particular?"

Kadaj nodded excitedly, the gleam in his eyes returning once more. "Exactly. We'll hunt down the most powerful magic user this place has to offer and use them to harvest the cells."

Yazoo nodded wistfully, his mind elsewhere. "That means the end for us…" He looked up with narrowed eyes at Kadaj, uncertainty clouding his face.

The young warrior smirked. "Naturally. What would you expect? It's our destiny to come together for a greater purpose."

"Greater purpose…" Yazoo echoed, looking up towards the night sky. "Greater purpose…"

"It's inevitable that Big Brother will be back. It will happen." The excitement contained Kadaj as the troubles from earlier seemed to melt away at the moment, soothing him for the time being. "Soon."

"Who do you suppose would possess this power here? Certainly not any of those weaklings we fought earlier." Loz spoke as he inspected the mechanical device grafted to his hand.

"No…" Yazoo shook his head, once again staring out into space wistfully. "Definitely another. I can somewhat sense their presence."

Kadaj stopped, remaining still as he peered through the black night. He turned, eyeing his two brothers sharply. "We have a lot of work ahead of us." His expression darkened even further. "Today, we jumped right into a situation not fully clothed. We won't make the same mistake again. We'll study our surroundings for now. I'm curious as to what we can find out."

Loz grunted in amusement. "Let the research begin. I'm sure both our brothers can wait."

"They won't wait for long. We'll have our Reunion."

* * *

Rinoa felt as if she were starving, the acids in her stomach eating away at her body. At the same time, as if some invisible force wished for her to suffer further, there was the added feeling of being punched in the midsection as well, resulting in a very unpleasant feeling. To top it all off, she could taste the familiar bitter tinge of vomit threatening to creep up her throat as she did her best to control her emotions and contain the fluids within.

This was what Squall Leonhart did to her. He made her worry and the recent state of events that had rocked Balamb Garden and its inhabitants via radio transmission and through various television monitors only served to fuel the dreadful feelings.

Of course now, after the progression of several hours, and the news that the four SeeD's deployed to Galbadia earlier had all survived, Rinoa slightly felt more at ease mentally. The uncomfortable and straining knot in her stomach only twisted further and further however. It continued to tighten until the pain inside her chest was unbearable as one thought circled around in her head.

'Was Squall okay?'

The radio news had confirmed that all four members of the strike team were fine and Rinoa had released a great breath of relief at the time, along with a concerned Quistis at her side. Their troubles and worries seemed to dissipate if only for a short while as several moments after the initial announcement, came a second and unpleasant delivery of speech.

The reports had indicated that one of the four SeeD's had been injured in an enormous blast and was now hospitalized and in critical condition.

Rinoa's world seemed to come tumbling down all at that moment as the amount of worry within rose exponentially, fearing foremost for Squall's life and wishing, as well as praying, that it wasn't him. She knew it was selfish and cruel to hope that anyone of the rest could be the victim of the injury. Despite her best attempts to quash those thoughts, they continued to resurface, ensuring her that she did in fact care most for the SeeD leader. That wasn't to say that her thoughts weren't with the others but at the particular moment, her wild sentiments proved who was most important to her.

The mixture of emotions flooded her body once more as she sat in contemplation. Earlier that day, when Squall had met up with her prior to leaving, he'd assured her that it was a simple mission.

'_I don't think it's anything big…'_ He'd stated. She was angry at him now. Angry for having trusted his overestimation of the situation and angry at herself for letting him go. She should have gone when she had asked to tag along. Like the perfect gentleman however, he'd declined, ensuring her that he would be fine.

'You bastard. You better be all right.'

Why was he always so stubborn even when he didn't try to be? Everything had been perfect up to his departure earlier until she had seen on the monitors with her own eyes, the fight scenes involving the mysterious men. Powerful blasts of magic, blistering speeds and acrobatics only served to add dread to Rinoa's temperament. Right then, she had anticipated something unfortunate transpiring but wished for it to be a fallacy. That was, until the news via radio confirmed her fears, ending everything crashing down.

Now, as she sat still amidst all the turmoil taking place outside the safe walls of the Garden, her only course of action was to wish for the best, making her feel completely helpless. She hated the feeling of being powerless, unable to directly help those she cared about.

Her tear stained face shone as the illumination from the moon outside Squall's room soaked up the entire area. Sitting on the bed, she had her head resting on her knees, which were tucked below her neck. She had stopped sobbing but the quiet stream of salt water continued to fall freely from her eyelids, coursing its way down her fine cheeks before silently making impact with the now damp sheets below.

Standing by the window and gazing out detachedly, Quistis seemed deep in thought as the weak ambient light reflected off her pale white skin. She hadn't said anything for the past few minutes now, seemingly taking a break after an arduous amount of time was spent comforting Rinoa and ensuring her that Squall was all right.

"Quistis?" Rinoa's soft, quivering voice broke the tense silence looming over the room.

The blonde SeeD calmly turned around, staring at her friend. "Hmm?"

"I- I'm sorry about earlier. I wish… I only wish I was as strong as you when it came to these things."

For the first time since the revelation of the events via the news, Quistis broke out into a weak and faint but genuine smile. "No Rinoa, it's perfectly normal. I know how much you care about Squall."

There it was again. The statement that implied Rinoa cared only for the SeeD Commander and not much for the rest of her friends. This spurred a reaction within the raven haired female, prompting her to speak up with more confidence. "Quistis, I care about everyone else too. Not just Squall."

Still smiling ever so faintly, the blonde woman turned back towards the window, gazing out across the glittering ocean and its endless series of smooth, hypnotic waves. "I know Rinoa. I know…"

"I hope they all make it back okay."

"They will." Quistis' simple words of encouragement slightly calmed the nerves of the younger woman.

"I wish I could've been with them." Rinoa blurted out, meaning every word.

Without turning to look around, Quistis nodded once as she continued to gaze outwards. "So do I."

* * *

The bike stood out alone, bathing in the moonlight and posing as the sole inanimate object on the deserted highway. The machine remained stationary, parked to the side of the road as two individuals sat close by on the dirt, enjoying a brief moment of peace.

Tidus' blue eyes glittered in the night sky as he lowered his head from staring above, glancing at the man to his left. It had been plaguing him all day and now, more than ever: his comrade's glowing eyes just screamed for attention. On top of that, his older companion seemed to be recuperating at an astonishing pace considering all the punishment he had endured earlier in the day. It was unbelievable yet Tidus' own eyes couldn't be lying to him.

The incredible healing rate taking place on the body of the older warrior was something extraordinary. Tidus was aching all over, dried blood enveloping him yet his mysterious ally simply sat there without so much as a single word as he carefully removed several of the numerous bullets lodged inside his body. The calm countenance of the orange haired soldier prompted Tidus to refrain from complaining about his own shares of pain. It almost put him to shame.

Tidus simply had to know what the deal with him was.

It was strange. In the span of several hours, a number of grueling battles had brought these two together, allowing them to put their differences aside to form an unlikely alliance. Tidus had absolutely no idea of anything relating to his 'ally' aside from a first name. Despite the man's mysterious nature, the blonde haired swordsman knew that he could trust him for some unknown purpose. The older warrior simply radiated a trustworthy aura, drawing others in with his powerful determination and energy. The energy was attractive and that was what pulled Tidus in. But Tidus was a young man and curiosity was the flavor of choice in this case. Now would be a good time as any to fire away he supposed.

Watching him for a moment longer, Tidus opted to break the comfortable silence. "Hey, you all right? You took a huge beating back there."

Without taking his eyes off a bullet hole he was examining, Derek spoke. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just need to get these out. How about you? How're you holding up?"

Tidus nodded. "I'm okay. I'll manage." He wasn't satisfied with his comrade's response.

"We need to get some rest. Body recovers more efficiently when it's dormant." The older soldier stated, digging into another wound and successfully retrieving yet another piece of lead.

An ensuing silence took place for several minutes as each man was left to his own thoughts.

"Who are you anyways?" The question was asked abruptly, spurring the orange haired man to turn and gaze at Tidus in surprise.

Derek was silent for a moment, gazing straight ahead. He released a short breath before answering. "I'm a SOLDIER." He knew that his companion had no idea of the connotations behind the word. The blonde haired man would simply assume he was referring to a status.

And that's exactly what Tidus perceived it as. "Yeah I could kind of guess but I mean… where's your sword? Don't you have one?"

Another moment of silence, this one longer as the older individual sat in thought. His eyes slowly and carefully rose to gaze towards the stars before he spoke once more. "I used to have one. But I lost it."

"Battle huh?" Tidus shook his head, now gazing ahead.

"Something like that. What about you? Your sword seems pretty good." Derek eyed the shiny blue blade to the side of the blonde haired warrior.

"I don't go anywhere without it." Tidus inspected the blade for a moment, reminiscing of all the battles that had taken place during his journey to battle Sin along with the others. How he missed them.

"Hmm... it can handle itself well in battle."

Tidus broke out of his slight reverie. "Hey, what was up with that? You taking my sword without asking?" A mock frown formed on his face.

"You try asking for something when you've got a big psychotic heavy hitting maniac right on your tail." Derek stood up, brushing himself off. He proceeded towards the bike, inspecting it.

Tidus stood up as well but remained still. "While we're on that subject, who were those guys?" He was simply dying to know. The question was eating at him for so much blood had been shed and so much chaos had been generated in such a short amount of time. There had to be a significant purpose for the wild rampage.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Came the cryptic reply.

The words didn't register well with the younger man, not believing a word of it. He didn't wish to start throwing accusations just yet however. "Did they really mean it when they called you their brother? I mean, is it true? Are you really related?" He knew he was being slightly insensitive with the prying questions.

Derek turned slowly, almost mechanically and gave him an icy glare. "No." The statement was bitter and full of spite.

Nodding, Tidus proceeded forward. "Figures. I mean, you don't share any resemblance whatsoever except…" He halted for a second, staring down at the earth.

Derek quirked an eyebrow. "Except what?"

"Well… except for your eyes."

A frown now surfaced on the orange haired soldier. "My eyes? What about them?"

"Well it's weird but I think they actually glow." Tidus didn't actually think they did, he knew they did. He was absolutely positive of that fact.

Feigning surprise, Derek cocked his head to the side in question. "Glow?" He turned his back to the younger man as he inspected it once more.

"Yeah. At first I thought I was seeing things but you and those silver guys all have glowing eyes. It's kinda freaky but cool at the same time. What's up with that?" Tidus' blue eyes were now penetrating the glowing deep blue orbs of the older man, awaiting some form of response. When none came after a brief moment of silence, he decided to change the subject. "Hey you're not from around here are you?"

Derek visibly went rigid under the moonlight, not anticipating a question like that. It had caught him completely off guard. He spoke with his back still towards the blonde haired teenager. "What makes you say that?"

"Well your attire for one is extremely different from everyone else's."

The older man snorted, shaking his head at the hypocritical statement. "You're one to talk. Have you taken a look at yourself recently? What's with the weird design?" He turned around, face now containing a smirk.

Tidus took offense, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. "Hey, where I come from, it's extremely warm."

"I bet. Where are you from anyways?"

Tidus grinned faintly. "I might let you know after my body stops screaming at me in pain."

Derek chuckled briefly, shaking his head. "Quit your whining."

A moment of comfortable silence and relief washed over the two, as the light hearted conversation temporarily eased all the tension from earlier.

Tidus figured to probe for answers once more, bracing himself. "So anyways… who are you seriously? Is your name really Derek?"

If the earlier question had caught him off guard, then this one had taken him by complete surprise. Turning around sharply, Derek barked, "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

Taking a step back in slight surprise, Tidus shook his hands, signaling he meant no offense. "Well, you really don't seem like a Derek to me. I don't know. I picture you as someone else."

The frown disappeared, giving way to a stoic look. "Why do you ask so many questions?"

"It's my nature." Tidus' facial expression was serious to an extreme.

A lengthy period of silence ensued as the two men stood in their positions, no words being exchanged for a while. The hard look on the older man's face softened as he gazed towards the distance wistfully.

After some time, Derek spoke softly with an air of nostalgia permeating. "You know I used to be just like you when I was younger. Always asking questions and pissing others off."

Tidus nodded, staring at the ground once more. "How old are you?"

Derek frowned. "Guess."

Tidus shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know… twenty five? Twenty six?"

"Somewhere around there." The orange haired man nodded, hopping on the bike.

Balling his fists and raising them into the air, Tidus snarled. "Arghh! You're killing me here!"

"What about you?" Derek asked nonchalantly, starting the engine and completely ignoring the aggravation taking hold of the younger swordsman.

"Seventeen." Tidus turned and went to retrieve his sword.

Derek nodded to himself, muttering softly into the wind so that his companion couldn't hear. "Seventeen…"

* * *

It was late at night with the milky white light resonating through the empty halls of the eerily quiet hospital. The numerous large glass panels welcomed the pale rays as they washed over their surroundings, bringing them to life in the cloudless night.

A lone figure sat on a mildly padded chair in the empty hall of the fourth floor of the Galbadia General Hospital. He was hunched over and in deep thought, having lost track of time hours ago as the staff in the hospital had all gradually departed, leaving the building vacated aside from very few nurses, clerks and custodial personnel. This particular floor however, was empty and had been for some time now. As the way he wished for it to be.

It was strange. The hospital was always a place prompting feelings of uneasiness and despair within the courageous SeeD leader. But in the night, especially now when the entire floor was practically devoid of any life and seemed to radiate an even more unfriendly and gloomy aura was when he truly felt at peace with the building. A calm feeling of pure contentment washed over him as he remained still, staring at the cold tiled floor being illuminated by the moonlight.

Zell's condition hadn't changed from earlier as the blonde fist fighter lay in a bed inside one of the many medical rooms alone, the darkness enveloping him. He had gone to check on him several times, but in the end, the image was always an exact replica of the one before it. An unconscious and seemingly comatose Zell lay with various instruments and tubes protruding out of his body as he appeared a shell of his former self.

Selphie seemed to take it the hardest, bawling at every given interval but he knew that she was simply showcasing her emotions. Emotions he had to hide from the rest of the world. Emotions he could not reveal no matter how much he wished to. The often cheerful petite woman had been overcome with much grief earlier, dealing with both the shock of having Zell severely injured and the sudden and abrupt departure of Irvine.

The gunman had still not returned or been heard from.

Squall looked up after several more minutes of absolute standstill. He checked his watch as it read a little past three in the morning. No doubt Rinoa, among the others would be worried about him at the moment. She would be throwing a fit right now over his whereabouts and his refusal to return home. He wished to see her more than anything but he had an obligation to Zell.

He knew that was simply an excuse however, seeing as how Selphie had been flown back to Garden in a private transport courtesy of the Galbadian military despite her excessive concern for her injured comrade. He had refused to leave however, despite assurances that Zell would be transported to Garden as well in several days' time.

After Irvine had simply walked off earlier that day, Squall began to slowly feel the old linings from within surfacing once more. The sharpshooter had prompted him to let forth his old self. The same old self that he had worked so hard to extinguish over the past few months following the defeat of Ultimecia.

It seemed that old wounds simply did not heal as easily as one thought.

Instead of going back to Garden where many awaited him and his news, he chose to flee for the time being, wrapping himself up in his thoughts as he used to do before. In his own world, Squall would be shielded from the outside inadequacies and could soothe himself.

That was why he had let Irvine simply walk off. He had understood. He had been in those exact same shoes before and now found himself somewhat willing to place them back on once more.

The hall was deathly quiet and had been for the past hour. The comfortable silence was momentarily shattered as a repetitive clapping of footsteps emerged, drawing closer and closer until a janitor approached the distressed SeeD commander.

Squall gazed in a frozen stupor at the cold tiling as the elderly man spoke in a gruff voice. "Sir? You've been sitting her for hours. Do you need anything?"

"Leave." Came the icy reply.

Without even attempting another remark, the man walked away briskly, the sound of his footsteps diminishing until they were seemingly a long forgotten memory. The first ominous cloud swept over the moon, engulfing the entire area with a blanket of pure darkness.

Squall Leonhart continued to stare despairingly into an endless sea of nothingness as he was consumed by the darkness of the night, left only with the whispers of his own thoughts.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Yes, this is not a mirage. I actually updated with a new chapter. It hasn't been that long has it? It's kind of hard to continue on with a story when practically no one seems to be reading it. Despite that, I'm not the type of author to just give up and call it quits as a result of that. It is frustrating I admit when no one appears to be looking at your work but I'll finish this to the end. So forgive me however, if you don't find me updating so often since there doesn't appear to be a large fanbase to please at the moment. To my one loyal reader so far (you know who you are), here you go. Sorry for the wait.**


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